


Elan Vital

by Harrisii



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood, Light Bondage, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-09
Updated: 2016-09-16
Packaged: 2018-05-19 08:25:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 59,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5960707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harrisii/pseuds/Harrisii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vampire AU set in a futuristic world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rising dust

_The death of Christopher Pike has shaken one of the oldest vampire covens in the world.  In a world ravaged by hunters and rogue vampires their coven had managed to fight back from extinction.  But at what cost?  Pike was dead, a rival coven bent on destroying humanity had taken him out, after centuries on earth he was taken from the coven with a stake through his heart and his head severed from his shoulders.  His protégé Spock, almost as old as Pike himself was left devastated and his oldest friend Leonard, older even than Pike, was left with command of a coven, a command neither he nor Spock coveted.  In the search for a leader for their coven the two had sought a strong vampire from the rogues hoping to train and present him as their leader, it is possible they were too rash with their decision, grief clouding their judgment._

 

An old warehouse was where they finally found him, their rogue turned leader.  The poor creature was swimming in a pool of his own blood, his head separated from his shoulders.  Above him, the two vampires looked down at the carnage.

“This is less than ideal” the taller of the two spoke

“No shit” the rough tones of the second traveled through the warehouse, echoing back towards them.  His hazel eyes flashing to gold in his anger.  Turning up dust he walked closer to the corpse, his mouth turning up in a scowl.  Kicking at the head dejectedly, he watched as it rolled with a sickening squelch as the congealed blood stuck to floor and flesh.  This depend the scowl on the man’s face and he stepped back, his hands going to tug at his hair.

“He has the worst timing!” he hollered spinning back around to the other man who merely nodded, a thoughtful look on his face, his dark eyes squinting.  Neither of them having the time or the inclination to grieve over the loss of their “leader” when they had more important matters to deal with. 

The taller man finally looked up towards the first, his lips in a tight line “You will have to assume leadership of the coven” he said, a hint of warning in his voice.

“Fuck that, Spock”

  
“Leonard” the warning became a solid thing, reflected in his posture as he squared his shoulders, the other merely snarled and spun away from the confrontation.  His shoulders tense.

“Not gonna happen hobgoblin” He spat out, kicking at the torso of their past leader viciously “Fucking useless trash”

“He lasted longer than I anticipated” the one called Spock breathed out, turning away, a disapproving frown plastered to his face as he watched the other kick at the torso of their fallen leader. 

“He lasted a week!” Leonard spat, letting go of his hair with a heavy breath. 

“Exactly”

“You knew this wasn’t going to work!” the man with the golden hued eyes accused, jabbing a finger into the others chest

“True, I did voice my concern several times over.  As you say, it is slim pickings at the moment.  Our race is not exactly thriving” Spock simply raised an eyebrow at the prodding “You picked him up from the streets, he was a good fighter but hardly a leader”

“Where do you suggest we look for one then?” The one called Leonard slumped in defeat, a tired expression crossing his features “None in our coven have the inclination to lead, except perhaps Sulu”

“He is not ready”

“No” A heavy silence fell over the room, the dust settling around them.

“We need new blood, ensure they won’t be recognized.  I can pass them off as an old prodigy of Pike’s”

“They will be able to tell that their blood is weak.  Young”

“I’ll make them”

“You have never…”

“Then it’s about time isn’t it?”

“There is always the option of joining with Jean-Luc’s coven”

“I won’t have it” the older vampire snapped, his golden eyes flashing “Pike would… he wouldn’t have it”

“Very well”

“Find a soldier, a leader of the humans, the best you can.  I’ll do the rest” at this the vampires were quiet, their stillness revealing their other worldliness as they waited for day to become night, neither wanting to brave the sewers once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Visit me on Tumblr :)](http://xharrisii.tumblr.com/)


	2. Emergence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive this long as hell notes but I wanted to explain some things
> 
> The vampires in my world are not from any one fandom. I have drawn from Anne Rice, Priest, Buffy the vampire slayer, supernatural, pretty much everywhere except twilight there are also some of my own imaginings thrown in there. In this world vampires turn others by feeding of them until near death then feeding them their own blood. The vampire inherits certain characteristics from the blood but overall keep their original personality. 
> 
> There are creatures in vampire law that are referred to as old ones, they were the original vampires, demons that existed on this plane and others. They have long abandoned this reality. The closer a vampire is in lineage to these ‘old ones’ the more powerful they will be. Although there is little difference between one or two generations, it takes several for there to be a noticeable change. A vampires child could easily be of equal strength to that of its maker if its human characteristics were stronger than that of the maker.  
> In this world humans rule and vampires must keep the peace, the weapons of humans now giving them an advantage. Over the years hunters had hunted them almost to extinction, however covens remain, in alliance with the humans. They take no lives, feeding of willing humans and assisting in the fight against the mindless and vicious creatures that still exist and rogue vampires.  
> Rogue vampires have no coven, although they sometimes form a nest of three or more vampires. They have little control over their impulses and are usually young abandoned fledglings that in turn create more of their kind in a desperate bid to create a coven that their instincts tell them they need.  
> Please be aware that POV will shift in this story between Jim and Leonard  
> There are even more notes at the end O.o

Leonard settled for growling softly under his breath, he knew Spock would disapproved if he outright snarled.  But honestly, his frustration at this entire situation had reached boiling point.  Leonard could remember the old days, when lycans had been more than a breath on the wind.  Before they appeared only in angsty television shows.  They were creatures that embodied the worst of human emotions, aggressive, wild, broken things that sought only an end to their own torment.  Their terrible howls of pain would raise goosebumps on his skin, he was never one to feel guilty over slaughtering them.  It was a mercy and slaughter them he did, in droves.  Sitting behind his desk Leonard found himself wishing for those simpler times, wishing to howl out his own frustrations, like those wolves had done.  When it was just himself, his maker, sword and horse plunging through the darkness, the thrill of the hunt.  Following orders, it was a simple time, a time he had thought lost but had found again in Pike many years later.  Leonard had given himself to this coven and asked only for discretion in return.  He was perhaps the oldest vampire left alive, he was ironically considered an ‘old one’ however Leonard considered himself anything but.  He remembered the ‘old ones’ small fragile looking creatures with cheekbones like razors and sunken sickening yellow eyes.  They were more powerful than Leonard could ever conceive of at the time, they used to show up at his makers residence on occasion, whispering and chattering, their teeth clicking in the darkness, bones creaking and clacking.  Leonard remembered it had been a difficulty to look directly at them, they seemed transparent like they were barley keeping themselves in existence.  Perhaps Leonard had been right, as some years later they faded from existence completely, his maker had seemed shaken but not surprised when they stopped visiting.  The only thing he had ever said on the matter was that “They had been here long enough Ossa, everything must end eventually, even this world”

Ossa, that had been his name then.  Leonard had given it up like so many things after his makers death, he had slept for so many years after that day, longer than he ever had before, as a result he truly didn’t feel as old as he knew he truly was.  It was a habit of his, going to ground, at times it was the only way he could deal with his continued existence and decades sometimes centuries would pass without notice.  Power and strength did not come from age, however many vampires were under this misapprehension.  Power in the vampire world came from lineage, the closer you were to the true ‘old ones’ by maker was the true mark of power.  There were variations of course, other factors, but generally that was the rule.  Leonard’s maker was created by the ‘old ones’ and so, if not the oldest vampire he was fairly certain he was one of the strongest.  Now that Pike was gone at any rate, Pike had come from his maker’s line, not far down, his skill as a proficient fighter and strategist had made more than up for any diluted strength through the generations.  Leonard had awoken when he felt Pike’s presence near his resting place.  The blood of his maker had called to him and disorientated and weak Leonard had scrambled up through the dirt and fallen at Pike’s feet, his protégé Spock looking on with curiosity.  Leonard knew Pike had been disappointed, he had, after all, been looking for Leonard, like an orphan seeking long lost family.  Leonard imagines he had been expecting a regal, strong figure, an icon of power and strength, not the broken creature in rags that was before him.  In any case Pike hadn’t killed him and Leonard’s disappointment over this fact had been well known.  He had grudgingly fallen in with Pike, travelled to a place he called Englaland, a land of angels Pike had called it, in a flowery language that had confused him.  Then many years later to America, he had seen the world change before his very eyes, beyond the comforting solid unchanging forms of Pike and Spock.  That was gone now, Pike was dead and he and Spock were in disarray.  Leonard couldn’t help but be angry, Pike knew Leonard and Spock had no interest in leading this coven and yet he had trained no one else. 

Leonard was pulled abruptly from his thoughts as the hunter seated in front of him raised his voice. “You are only useful if you control the rogues and Nero’s men” the man in front of him spat, Leonard cringed he hated talking to hunters.

“and what of Harrison’s coven hmm? Spock did tell you that they’re growing?” Leonard asked, frustrated beyond belief that Spock and himself were the only ones to see the imminent threat of this coven.

“Let us worry about Harrison, we have him under control”

Leonard scoffed, looking towards Spock who stood behind him, willing the man to back him up.  He nodded, so helpful.  “You don’t know what you’re talking about” Leonard turned back towards the human in distaste, he couldn’t even remember his name.  “I know a mad, power hungry man when I see one, he’s dangerous”

“What and you aren’t?” bit back the hunter, leaning forward in his seat

“We keep worse things than us out of the city, we don’t take lives and we have all but taken down Nero’s coven” Leonard bit out, slamming his fist down on the desk.

“Right and the fact that Harrison and his men killed Pike has nothing to do with this? This little vendetta of yours”

Leonard froze, anger rippling under his skin.  It would be so easy to snap this boys neck, reach over with the flick of a wrist, it would be done.  What did this child know of vendettas?  He had witnessed so many, petty, fleeting things.  Leonard had no time for them, just like he rarely had time for humans and their closed off, young minds.  Pike was dead, it was no one’s fault but Pikes, he had gone into the serpents den seeking answers alone and he had not returned.  Leonard had felt his death like a kick in the side, robbing him of breath.  But what he remembered about that night was not his own pain but Spock’s, witnessing him fall to the floor, ripping at his chest as if trying to dig out his own heart. Feeling a firm hand on his shoulder Leonard relaxed minutely and sagged back in the chair.  Motioning towards the hunter, he let Spock know he was done attempting diplomacy, so done.  He wasn’t made for this.  He was made for war.

“We must refuse your request to take men away from the reconnaissance on Harrison’s coven” Spock’s voice was deceptively calm.  Leonard knew the rage that must be boiling underneath the surface.  He also knew Spock was liable to snap without a firm hand giving him direction right now, his grief was cracking through his carefully constructed barriers, Leonard was trying to be that at the moment but in reality he was just as lost.

“We need more men taking out the rogues, they are drawn to this god forsaken place like flies to shit” the hunter spoke, confident in their compliance, it make Leonard’s skin crawl.  Leonard had never taken orders from a human, not even when he himself was one.

“Then allow us to turn more people” Leonard reasoned, resisting the urge to run a frustrated hand through his hair, they had been dwindling in numbers for years.  It hurt his heart more than he cared to admit, these people were his family now. 

“You can’t win this on your own” Spock backed him up “and even you must admit that you are taking a risk on Harrison?”

“Fine, five” the hunter agreed reluctantly

“We need at least fifteen to make a difference” Spock countered and Leonard smirked knowing they needed ten, could only handle turning and training ten.

“Eight” the man countered, frustration clear on his features.

“ten”

“Fine” he spat, making a note on his tablet.  Leonard grinned crookedly, finally pleased with how the meeting was going.  He would allow Spock and the main ‘crew’ as Pike had liked to call them to deal with the fledglings, he would be dealing with something far more volatile, a fledging with his blood? It would be powerful and no doubt hard to control.  Oddly Leonard was looking forward to the challenge as much as he was dreading it.  Spock would make some, Nyota the rest.  Spock’s fledglings tended to behave calmer the majority of the time.  But when they flew of the handles they went with a bang, it was reminiscent of Pike’s blood.  All the others Pike had turned had destroyed themselves, Spock was his last surviving child.  The blood was diluted through Spock, but ten fledglings with the power that Spock’s blood held would be too much to handle, a liability.  Most would be sired by Nyota whose blood appeared to demand loyalty and obedience. Pavel being the perfect example of this.  Leonard was terrified to think how a fledgling of his would turn out, Leonard knew he was the last of his brothers and sisters, he had felt them all die, many while he had gone to ground, their deaths always woke him, gasping and tearing at his chest.  It was painful but they were all blood thirsty creatures, the remnants of a different bloodier time, he didn’t grieve for most of them.  Leonard was no different than his siblings of course, but instead of giving into madness, he had slept. Like his entire existence was a bad hangover that he could sleep of with time.  It hadn’t worked, but he had learned to adjust and adjust quickly.  It became necessary as every time he woke the world was so very changed.

“Are we done here?” Leonard spoke up, impatience clawing at his insides.  Oh how he hated this, he attended so very few meetings while Pike was alive.  Preferring to spend his time in relative solitude, until he was called upon.

“Yes, I reckon so.  I’ll see you two later” Leonard ignored him, watching as Spock saw the man out the door, passing him off to Nyota.

As Spock returned, softly closing the door Leonard sighed, finally running an agitated hand through his hair.

“I had heard that creatures as old as you are meant to be still, contemplative things, rarely showing emotion”

“Is that why you act like an ice bucket Spock? Trying to pass yourself of as an ‘old one’” Leonard smirked, he had never been good at hiding his emotions, he had always been… volatile.

Spock straightened his shoulders, offended “I am old”

“Not to me sonny, besides this is nothing, you should have seen me in my youth”  Leonard grinned smiling fondly at the memories, no less vivid then they were all those years ago “I sliced through men like him by the dozen during the battle of Marathon, just to see what they were made of.  I used to carve their Bones you know, create those ghoulish hilts for my swords, you know the ones? They are in my room” Leonard grinned at the flicker of horror he caught behind Spock’s eyes.  “Oh please, like you didn’t do anything monstrous during your youth?  It was a different time then, everything was monstrous.  Vampires didn’t even being to measure up to the monstrosities of man and other beasts”

“Leonard… are you refereeing to the battle of marathon that is written into ancient Greece’s history?... I thought those swords were relics, I never imagine you to be the original owner”

“That I am kiddo” Leonard watched in amusement as Spock sat down hard.

“I was young, my maker decided he disliked the Persians, he made several of us to help with the war.  He set us loose on the Persians let us slake out blood lust on the enemies of Greece.  It was… a bloody beginning but an interesting one none the less”

“Were you a soldier before your time?” Spock asked leaning forward in his seat

“God no, I was a healer, I hailed from Athens, my maker came to me one night as I was bent over one of my patients”

“You are a healer?” the disbelief in Spock’s voice amused Leonard and he let out a huff of a laugh

“I was, I haven’t been for a long time Spock, obviously” Leonard shifted uncomfortably, he had never shared his story with anyone but Pike.  There had been no need before he turned away from the world, everyone knew him and his name.  After he had woken it had been necessary to keep it secret for a time.  “Anyway, any progress on a fitting candidate?” Leonard asked eager to change the subject.

“As a matter of fact yes, here” That’s what Leonard liked about Spock, he never pushed.

Leonard rolled his eyes as Spock handed him an official looking manila envelope, like they were some kind of business firm.  Opening it he saw first the picture and he paused looking the man’s features over, he looked tired and drawn but he held himself straight.  He was talking to someone in the picture, he was scowling, a wrinkle forming between his brows.  To Leonard, the boy looked overwhelmingly human and young, flicking past the photo he looked over his file.  “He’s served?”

“Ten years in Navy, youngest captain in fifty years”

“How old is he?” Leonard asked, scanning the document

“He will be thirty in a few days”

“Young” Leonard muttered

“His record is full of commendations but he was often criticized for his… attitude”

Leonard glanced up letting his expression ask the question

“He was fairly radical, resistant towards authority.  If he found a problem with the rules he would ignore them, to what he believed was the greater good”

“How did he get away with that in the Navy?” Leonard asked, flipping back towards the young man’s photo

“He was always right” Spock answered simply “there was an incident, almost two years ago, it was wiped from his record, but something occurred and he was given an honorable discharge.  He has been conducting himself in less than honorable ways since”

“Meaning”

“He has been causing trouble with the local authorities, bar fights… mostly.  He was suspected of grand theft auto, there was also an incident with hacking a government database but he was never charged.  Petty things”

“He’s got not outlet, kids bored” Leonard muttered, still gazing at the photo

“His IQ is off the charts” Spock agreed

“It could be risky” Leonard stated, but in reality he had already made up his mind. 

Spock nodded “He would be volatile and we don’t know what effect your blood will have.  That concerns me, he would be hard to control, that we can be sure of, at least until the blood lust passed”

Leonard grinned “Sounds like a challenge, besides we don’t have time to waste.  You have any other eligible people?”

“Not for command, I found several promising young men and women though.  They seem suitable enough to bring into the coven” Spock held out another, thicker folder to Leonard who waved it off.

“That’s your lookout, do what you want” Leonard grasped the folder in his hands carefully “I’ll have my hands full with this one no doubt”

\--  
  
Leonard scowled at the smell of sweat, alcohol and the hormones permeating the air.  He had tucked himself up in the corner of the bar.  Several had approached him, much to his distaste, clearly he wasn’t radiating his displeasure aggressively enough.  He had sent them all running fast enough though. His thoughts were caught up on unapproachable postures and thinking he should perhaps develop his own further when a tension in his stomach caused him to glance up.  He was shocked to come face to face with the kid he was tracking, he found himself staring at him, his blue eyes calm and calculating as he, for all appearances seemed to be looking him over.  Leonard watched him curiously before the man glared and turned towards the bar.  Curious, Leonard thought, deciding to watch the man for a while, if he was intoxicated after all he would be easier to convince.  Although permission or not he would be taking him, consent forms were easily forged and they had little options, Leonard couldn’t muster up the energy to feel guilty.

Jim walked through the bar, ready to get wasted beyond all belief, it had been a hell of a week.  He was working at a mechanics and the monotonous days were doing his head in.  But as soon as he walked in the door he felt something tighten in his gut, an awareness.  Something was… off.  Turning his gaze towards what he thought was the source he came face to face with a man sitting in the corner of the bar, he appeared to be scowling at the table.  At first glance, the stranger’s scruffy appearance didn’t look to be threatening, however upon closer inspection Jim could feel the power emanating off of him.  Frowning he tilted his chin up in defiance when the man turned, their eyes meeting.  Jim frowned, the gaze felt as if it seeped right through him.  Glaring at the man Jim refused to budge, but when the other didn’t move he turned away, the staring finally too much.  Sidling up to the bar he ordered a coke, something told him he needed to keep his head clear tonight.

It had been hours, Jim was yet to look back at the man in the corner but he was constantly aware of his presence, his gaze on his back.  Frustration was pouring from Jim in waves, if they guy was interested why didn’t he just hit on him?  If he was from his past why hadn’t he made a move?  Sighing Jim knocked back the unsatisfying sweetness of the coke and grimaced. Perhaps he should just leave, but he knew it would leave him vulnerable, he didn’t know if the man was alone and he had left his knife in the car.  He couldn’t afford anymore incidents after all.

“Too strong for you?” A husky voice to his side asked and Jim turned, smirk already in place.

“Not strong enough baby” He shook his glass at her to demonstrate his point “I’m driving”

“I just bet you are” She had slid closer to his side and Jim grinned, suddenly his night was looking up.

 

Meanwhile, Leonard was bored, he had seen little evidence to prove that this kid had any kind of leader qualities.  He wasn’t expecting it to be shoved in his face but honestly.  Yet he couldn’t look away, there was something about this human that intrigued him.   Frowning he watched as the kid started talking to a woman.  Both of them seemed oblivious to a group of men walking towards them.  Sitting forwards Leonard watched with interest.  One of the men went to lay their hand on the kids shoulder, but before he could blink Kirk had grabbed the man’s wrist and twisted it around, his smirk not leaving his face.  “Can I help you gentleman?” The kid asked all cocky bravado

“That’s my girlfriend you’re has…” the pinched tone of the other man’s voice revealed the pain he was in and he choked off as Kirk twisted viciously.  Leonard could hear the bones grinding together from across the room, he grinned.

“Interesting, I don’t see a name tag on her” Leonard frowned, watching as the woman slid back into the shadows just a moment before the other men jumped into the fray.  Leonard saw Kirk smile and then he was all movement, shoving the man behind him and into the bar with enough force to send him sprawling.  Clearly this was where Kirk was in his element he was all speed and viciousness, hitting with enough force to send the other men sprawling.  But as more men came into the fray Leonard could see he was wearing thin, he started to take hits. Leonard could smell his exhaustion in the air… and his blood, Kirks smelling sweeter than the rest, causing him to lean forward in his seat.  They were kicking him while he was down currently and Leonard wondered mildly if he should put a stop to it, but then again if Kirk was half dead it would make his job easier.  It wasn’t long after this thought though that the bar tender finally made a fuss, kicking the men out and dragging Kirk out under his arms, he was muttering something about that being Kirk’s last strike.  Leonard followed at a distance, watching as the man dumped him unceremoniously in the street.  Kirk was groaning and muttering insults, clutching at his side and head, struggling to get up.  Leonard walked over, hands in the pockets of his coat.  He could see the men walking back over, looking determined, Leonard scoffed, allowing his eyes to flash and they practically stumbled over themselves to get away, Leonard smirked after them before looking down at the kid at his feet.

“Who er yoo?” The kid muttered

“Your murderer most likely” Leonard uttered, bending down to assess the damage, he looked to have taken a few hits to the head.

“Thas a terrible way to introduce yaself yah know?” Leonard noticed he didn’t seem too concerned “Yah gonna kill me then?”

“Not at the moment kid”

“Mmmmk” and with that Kirk passed out, Leonard rolled his eyes.   Picking him up easily, Leonard took him to his car, flopping him into the back seat and making sure the child locks were on.  The last thing he needed was the kid killing himself in a halfhearted escape attempt.  Standing up he took a moment to look the kid over, he was beaten to shit, lip split, his face swelling, but he would survive.  Opening the driver’s door he paused, remembering the look of determination in the kids eyes, turning back he went to the trunk to fetch the rope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leonard’s name from his vampire youth is Latin for Bones. He was nicknamed this by his maker when he noticed his penchant for taking apart his victims and carving their bones.  
> Englaland is the old English name for England, it is not misspelled ;)
> 
> The battle of marathon was a real battle that took place in 490BC, you can place Leonard’s turning at around this time. He is very old. He abandoned the world during the rise of the Roman empire around 450 AD several years after his makers death and woke in the early seventh century. He went to ground during this time, into a kind of stasis and was only woken by the call of his makers blood that he felt within Christopher Pike.  
> Leonard is powerful, but he prefers a more simple existence he has little patience for leadership. Spock in uninterested in it as well.  
> This existence of vampires in this day an age is like a badly kept secret. Those who have not met a vampire are convinced they are somewhat of an urban legend. Created around gangs and drug use. To those who have met them, they usually fall into two categories, those who avoid them at all costs and those who are fascinated and drawn into their world.


	3. Capitulation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to make some notes here about Jim's state of mind. But I think that will be made clear in the next chapter anyway.  
> Thanks to all those who have liked, left kudos' and bookmarked. It may seem like a small thing to do but it means soooo much. I especially love hearing from you all. If you want to chat you can find me on Tumblr [here](http://xharrisii.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Three chapters in as many days, I am posting as I am writing and I'm actually on holidays at the moment so its worked out well. I didn't see the point in trying to keep to a weekly schedule, especially as these chapters are significantly shorter than what I usually write.

Jim woke with his heart in his throat and the memory of hazel eyes looming over him.  Frowning he tried to bring his heart down to normal levels while taking stock of the situation.  Keeping his breath steady and his eyes closed he tried he realized he was in the back of a car.   He was tied.

“I know your awake James”

Jim groaned at the rough voice, attempting to sit up, wincing at the pain in his head.  Taking a moment to steady himself Jim slowly opened his eyes, seeing the hazel eyes in the review mirror he smirked.

“Please, you kidnapped me, we’ve like bonded” Jim looked down at the ropes covering his chest, arms and legs “Literally and figuratively, I mean…shit man, may as well call me Jim”

“You’re pretty relaxed Jim”

“Yeah well, so are you, so I’m guessing you either don’t know who you have kidnapped or you do know and you’re an idiot”

“Neither I’m afraid”

Jim managed to work his way into a seated position, backing up and edging his hands up to the door handle, trying to feel it out with numb hands was more than a little difficult.  When nothing happened he rolled his eyes “Child lock really?”

“Whatever works” the man said with a shrug

“So you’re planning to kill me then?”

“Yeah, looks that way”

“Your very casual about it, are you a psychopath or something?” Jim mumbled looking for any visible weapons.  He wouldn’t be able to make a move until the car slowed down somewhat, he figured he may as well make conversation.

“Undoubtedly”

“Well that’s comforting”

“I am not here to give you comforting messages Jim”

“No you’re here to kill me”

“Amongst other things”

Jim scoffed, it wasn’t as if he had never been tortured before “What’s your poison then, torture, rape, please tell me you don’t have some cliché dungeon… oh god you don’t have a little fluffy dog do you… is there lotion?”

The man laughed softly, oddly it made Jim relax his tense shoulders slightly “You are full of interesting ideas Jim, however I was thinking more along the lines of giving you control over a coven of vampires”

Jim swallowed as everything clicked into place, the uncomfortable feeling that had been curdling in his stomach grew exponentially.  He had met vampires before, it had not been a pleasant experience.  “Right, vampires.  Of course.  Leader of a coven? I thought you said you were going to kill me”

“An unfortunate symptom of being turned into a vampire, living isn’t all that interesting.  I doubt you will miss your humanity”

“Do I get a say in this”

“I could pretend to give you an option if you would prefer? Talk you into it? I was going to, but I find I don’t have the patience”

“So what? You want me to lead some coven?  I don’t get it”

“Yes, my coven as a matter of fact.  All major decisions will still have to go through myself and Spock of course but we need a figure head.  A strategist, a leader”

“Which you aren’t, I’m assuming”

“I have little to no interest in such things”

“I could escape you know?”

“If you did I would be pleased, it will show your resourcefulness”

“You wouldn’t have me though” Jim could feel his flesh start to give way as he worked at the ropes and stopped, his heart rate picking up.  From what he knew, bleeding was probably not a great idea right now.  Although he could still taste blood in his mouth from the fight, he didn’t want to risk adding more to the mix.

“I could track you again, it’s not that hard.  Especially when you are less then subtle”

Jim sighed, his heart was still speeding along, the adrenaline making his hands twitch in his bonds.  It had been a long time since Jim Kirk couldn’t think of an escape plan.

“Feel free to escape any time you like, I do plan to kill you after all” The tone was mocking and Jim frowned, anxiety building in his gut, still though he didn’t move.

“You don’t smell of fear, well perhaps a small amount… still”

“I’ve faced worse things then you”

“Care to share with the group?”

“I’ll pass”

“I will probably take my time turning you, just so you know… it’s rare that I get to kill humans these days. Especially without the guilt, or worse, the lectures”

“You feel guilt”

“On occasion”

“hmmm, when you say take your time?”

“I mean to say that I will probably bleed you out slowly, savor both the taste and the experience.  They say it’s meant to make the actual change easier anyway.  A slow human death makes for a quick vampire change.  So they say, I have never had an opportunity to experiment.  So I will take my time, who knows you might thank me for it, in the end” Inexplicably Jim felt a low pulse of arousal at the words, blushing as he saw Leonard lift his head up sharply “Now isn’t that interesting” he was smirking.

“How will you bleed me out?” Jim was confused at his body’s reaction, he was barely able to stop the questions from spilling out of his mouth. 

Leonard was quiet for a moment, his eyes in the mirror thoughtful, hints of gold showing through “With my teeth, perhaps a knife if I feel like making patterns”

“Will you stab me?” Jim asked, fear of a gut wound circling around his head, irrational at this point in time perhaps, but memories were starting to spill into his head.

“No, shallow wounds, to make it last longer”

“Right, of course”

“It will still hurt, you know especially once your body temperature drops”

“Yeah I know all about hypovolemic shock thanks”

“You’ll be fine” The guy muttered distractedly fiddling with the radio station

“I think we were just discussing the fact that I won’t be”

The guy waved his hand dismissing him.  “Could be worse, my maker kept my locked in a dank dungeon for weeks.  Letting his other fledglings play with me.  They were given free rein as long as I was kept alive”

“He sounds like a dick”

“He had little use for people unless they proved their usefulness”

“What, and your different are you?” Jim scoffed, going back to working his wrists, blood be damned, he was getting out of here.

“I like to think so”

“What’s your name anyway, I feel like I should know the name of the guy that’s going to kill me”

“You seem very resigned already, I had this speech prepared you know.  Good of the cause and all of that”

“I doubt that…”

“No your right, I didn’t, Spock would have, maybe I should have sent him.  My name is Leonard”

Jim snorted shaking his head “Jesus… getting killed by a vampire called Leonard, not how I thought I would go”

“There are worse ways”

Jim frowned, leaning back into the seat and looking up at the ceiling to avoid Leonard’s gaze “I know”

With the knowledge that Leonard was a vampire his options for escape were limited.  Smashing the window and jumping out would do him more harm than good.  He knew he wouldn’t be able to overpower the vampire, not without some kind of weapon.  Of which there were none.  There was no way he was getting to the front seat.  His only chance would be when the car stopped, it was slim.  But it was there.  Jim latched on to it and otherwise began to mentally prepare himself for what was starting to look like the inevitable.

“So what is it like?”

“Might have to be more specific there kid”

“Becoming a vampire”

“It’s been a long time” the guy, Leonard, Jim reminded himself paused, Jim could see his eyes shifting restlessly from the rearview mirror “Its disorientating.  I wasn’t aware what was happening to me, so that made that aspect worse.  It’s painful, in your chest mostly, you try to breathe and… it hurts.  You can’t speak until you work out how your lungs work again, to get the air in without actually feeling like your chest is ripping apart at the seams.  Everything is too bright, too loud and too detailed, god the smell, that’s what I remember most, my stomach trying to empty itself without breath to aid it.  Mind you I was surrounded by death at the time, you won’t be”

“Does it fade?”

“The sensitivity?”

Jim nodded

“No, not really… you just get used to it I guess, the human body has an amazing way of coping with these things.  Like a high pitched noise that you eventually stop hearing because it’s always there”

“Will I be the same?”

“Of course not” Leonard scoffed, actually turning to raise an eyebrow at Jim

“I mean, will I still be me?” Jim asked again uneasily, he had heard some crazy things.

“The rumors of demon possession are just that, rumors.  People don’t like to think that humans are capable of such brutality, blood lust.  I have been around a long time and I can tell you it’s a lie, humans are vile creatures, vampires are just people, changed people but people none the less”

“So… I won’t want to kill people”

“You will yes, especially after you have been turned.  That will fade though, if we don’t let you kill a human it should fade relatively quickly.  Most vampires within a coven these days have no interest in killing”

Jim breathed out a sigh of relief “So you don’t want me to kill”

“We do want you to, but not humans.  You have killed before anyway”

“That’s different”

“Whatever you need to tell yourself kid, I’m not here to judge”

Jim huffed but refused to be baited “What are you expecting me to kill then?”

“Other vampires mostly, ones that are killing humans, other creatures”

“Other creatures?”

“We aren’t the only things that go bump in the night”

“Of course not” Jim felt dazed, but he figured the more he knew the better

“So do you… want to kill people”

“Oh, all the time”

“So you’re a psychopath, even by vampire standards?”

“Pretty much, I would say it was the way I was raised, I’ve been in a lot of wars.  I’ve killed my fare share and then some.  Plus feeding off humans and leaving them alive wasn’t exactly an option in the old days.  It’s hard to correct that behavior, especially when there is little to no incentive to do so”

“If you say so”

“You’ll be happy to know most of the coven are very civilized”

“So they are just going to stand by while I’m slowly drained hmmm?”

“Pretty much kid, they seem to think I’m the boss at the moment, so unfortunate.  They probably won’t like the way I go about it.  They can be a bit sensitive about that sort of thing”

“Can’t imagine why”

“Come now, it won’t be that bad, you might even enjoy it”

“Yes I do so love getting my blood slowly drained out of my body”

“You would be surprised how many people do love it”

“Not my kink man”

“We’ll see”

Jim was quiet for a moment, frowning into the back seat, he was rather disconcerted with how calm he was feeling. “Why am I so calm?  Did you drug me?” Jim did feel slightly dopey, but he had a feeling that might be from the kicked to the head.

“It’s more common than you would think, facing certain death, knowing what is coming.  In my experience if people know that there is no point in fighting they either go mad with the fear or they accept it”  Leonard shrugged, glancing back at him in the mirror “Obviously you are of the second variety, unless you’re about to snap?  Are you? I mean I expect some kind of escape effort when I stop the car, it would be quite pathetic if there wasn’t one.  But beyond that I mean”

“ah… no, I ah, I think I’m good” Jim frowned as Leonard simply nodded in reply

“Look… ahhh Leonard, this is by far the weirdest conversation I have ever had in my life, and I have had a lot of weird conversations”

“We need a strategist who is capable of leading and organizing our coven, you are that person.  It will be done.  We need someone who will be strong, therefore as the vampire that is most closely linked to the old ones it must be myself to change you.  It’s unfortunate for you that I tend to tip into the sadistic side of things, but you are a strong individual I doubt it will break your spirit.  We need that intact after all”

“So your being logical, is that is?”

“Please, Jim, don’t let Spock hear you say that.  I’m not being logical, I am doing what I have to for the good of the coven and ultimately the good of both of our kinds”

“So your trying to tell me mine will be a noble sacrifice” Jim’s voice dripped with sarcasm.  His head still hurt like a bitch.  A part of him wondered who this Spock was that the guy kept mentioning, but he had more important matter to deal with.  Like the fact he just got his wrists free.  With a frown he realized his arms were still bound to his side.

“Something like that, I never was one for poetry kid”

“In case it escaped your attention I’m not a kid”

“Yeah, you are”

“Not by human standards”

“Well seeing as you will cease to be one soon it hardly matters.  I did mean to ask you if you had any items you wanted me to have fetched for you.  Trinkets, whatever you humans get attached to.  Oh god, you don’t have a pet do you”

“Err, no and I…” Jim looked down at himself, his dog tags were hanging around his neck and his leather bracelet was wrapped around his wrist “No I erm, I’m good.  I don’t have any clothes though”

“We will provide them, it will look better if you don’t take them, we already have witnesses that saw you get the shit beaten out of you.  Hopefully it will be assumed that you left to crawl under a bush and die”

“Lovely, I always wanted to die like a dog”

“You will die slowly and painfully”

“You did mentioned that yeah”

“Yeah well, I may be trying to get some fear out of you”

“I would apologize but… you know”

“Yeah”

The silence hung between them and Jim was beyond confused, it was like he was having an out of body experience. He almost, almost felt bad for Leonard.  “I’m sure once we get to where we are going the fear will kick back in.  Especially if I do try to escape, adrenaline, you know?”

Leonard laughed, throwing his head back, his eyes glinting “Oh Jim, I knew I liked you”

Jim nodded seriously, trying to prevent the smirk that was trying to work its way onto his face “Only sensible thing to do” Their eyes met in the mirror and warmth suffused him, he couldn’t help the small grin.

“Most people are scared of me you know” Leonard finally muttered off handedly

“yeah well no offence man, you look like shit.  Rocking the crazy and homeless vibe isn’t the way to instill fear in to an ex marines heart”

“It’s been a rough few months.  Christopher, our coven’s leader, his death shook apart everything we had worked towards.  We tried to replace him with another vampire, he seemed confident we figured he would at least be trainable.  He lasted a week”

“Right, he was killed then?”

“He was useless, he had his head removed.  We aren’t sure who by”

“Well that sucks”

“Tell me about it”

At that Jim was left to his own thoughts for a while.  It wasn’t the first time he had faced down death but this was different.  He couldn’t see a way out, he had no one counting on him, he wasn’t protecting anyone, he didn’t owe anyone anything and he was tired.

“We’re here” Leonard finally said, glancing at Jim in the back seat, a smile slowly curving his mouth.  Jim’s heart sped up, this was his one and only chance, as slim as it was.

“Mmm, there it is” Leonard was visibly scenting the air

“you’re sick” Jim frowned, quickly working his shoulders and ankles.

“Obviously”

Jim craned his neck to peer out the window, watching as the car slowly drove around the giant house.  It looked to be a hotel, rather than a house.  At least five stories, surrounded by beautiful gardens lit up against the dark by small lights spattered all over the ground.  Eventually they came to a back entrance and Jim tensed as the car rolled to a stop.

“Here we are” and with that Leonard simply got out of the car.  Jim moved, didn’t think was just action, before he knew it he had slid to the front and dived out the passenger door and he was out and running, scanning for an escape route, something to help him.  Leonard had taken the keys and he didn’t have time to hotwire a car.  With a speed that astounded Jim, he felt a hand curl around his chest, stopping him so fast his air was knocked out of him.

“Ooomph”

“God, you smell amazing” a voice whispered in his ear and Jim spun, punching the guy square in the jaw.  Leonard barely flinched, grasping onto his arm firmly

“Well, at least I know not to use ropes now…mmph” Jim let another punch fly, trying to twist out of Leonard’s grip but his hold was immovable. “Really Jim?”  The movement was too fast, Jim didn’t even get a chance to block as a fist landed in his stomach, he crumpled.

“It’s interesting actually, you smell better than any human I have smelt in a long, long time”

“F… fuck you” Jim muttered, his legs unsteady, his fist throbbing.

“Will you come inside without a fuss?  Or do I need to knock you out and put the sack over your head?”

“Whatever man, clearly I’m not going anywhere”

“Then come” and Leonard walked away back towards the house, still gripping Jim’s arm tightly.  Jim tugged back, still resistant.

“Really Jim, your just being boring now, we tried escaping now it’s time to come inside”

“Right… fuck”

“That wasn’t really in my plans, but it can be arranged”

“Oh ha ha” Jim muttered, a small smile gracing his features despite the situation “God what is wrong with me?”

“Quite possibly it is the fact that you hate your life and have been offered something better.  Even if it means you have to suffer to get it.  I am sure you are used to suffering”

“I, I don’t hate you, you know.  Why is that?”

“You will no doubt be singing a different tune before long”

“Yeah I guess, what with the torture and all”

“Oh please, it’s just a little bloodletting.  If I was going to be torturing you I would need a lot longer than a couple of days”

“An expert are we?” Jim stumbled after Leonard, his arm twisted painfully in his grasp

“Yes, actually”

“Of course you are”

“Common kid, time to go” and with that Jim felt himself shoved through the back door of the house, stumbling he managed to find his footing.  His breath coming out in pants he quickly took in his surroundings, marking out the closest exits.  They looked to be in a somber sitting room.  Leonard was moving towards a door, he opened it to reveal a set of small stairs.  Jim glanced up, glaring.  Leonard only smirked and motioned for Jim to follow him.

“Down here”

“Really man? You live in the dungeon, we talked about this”

“I prefer to think of it as a sub level, but yeah, I do.  The cement helps to block out the noise of the other vampires that live here.  I would prefer to live in a separate building but Pike wanted me here so, here I am”

“Right” Jim scaled the stairs, squinting into the darkness, before the place was abruptly shed in light when Leonard flicked a switch.  It was nothing like he imagined, soft neutral colors adorned the walls and furniture, and the entire level was laid out like a studio apartment.  Bed, couches, bookshelves even a fireplace.  Jim stepped into the room, turning as he heard a heavy door slam, jumping he hadn’t realized that there had even been a door at the bottom of the stares.  Gaping he realized it was metal and he frowned as he saw Leonard spin a combination lock, and reach over with keys to lock the other two locks on the door.

“Paranoid much?”

“Only as much as I need to be”

“The bathroom is through that door there, you should probably go now, while it is still relatively easy for you to move around.  You will have to tell me if you need to go again, I will probably need to help you”

“Right” Jim paused shaking his head to clear it “This is insane, having a civil conversation with my kidnapper and soon to be murderer”

“I wouldn’t call it insane, I know where you stand, you know where I stand.  There is no talking me out of this and there is no point trying to lure you into a false sense of security.  Honestly Jim, aren’t you tired of having this same conversation?”

“There you go, being logical again”

“There is also no sense in stalling, the sooner I begin the sooner you can be put out of your misery”

“Fuck” Jim muttered, running a hand over his face he moved towards the bathroom.  Staring at the slate tiles Jim stepped in, barely noticing anything beyond his own shaking hands he stepped up to the toilet bowl, looking it over.  With a sigh he figured he may as well try and surprisingly he could.  After emptying his bladder Jim took a moment to splash cold water on his face and glance up into his reflection.  This was so fucked up, he was shaking, but beyond that he was finding it hard to dredge up any kind of emotion.  Feeling his dog tags slap back against his chest as he stood up straight, he frowned before drawing them up and over his head.  Placing them on the bench Jim left them behind, unsure if he would want them back.  Figuring Leonard would eventually come and get him if he stalled any longer he slowly opened the door to a smirking Leonard. 


	4. Closer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the support for this story, I really cant thank you enough. Comments really do make my day as do Kudos and bookmarks. But comments are especially fantastic, they really do make my day.  
> Nikte  
> Inuhime  
> Redford  
> Thank you so much, you guys have been there since the beginning of my adventure in to writing and fan fiction. I cant ever thank you enough for the support.  
> And anon! I have loved your comments for this fic :) I want to thank you as well even though I don't know you name!
> 
> Now, I feel like I should have mentioned earlier, this fic will have some dark themes, this chapter delves into that a bit. If you are at all concerned please read the warning at the end of the chapter (in the authors notes)

Leonard smirked watching the play of emotions over the kids face, he was definitely somewhat of a mystery.  Overall he had kept fairly calm, although his heart rate was fluttering madly now, he was surprised that Jim had managed to make it out of the bathroom at all.  Not saying anything, Leonard allowed the human to work through whatever was going through his head.  It didn’t take long and Leonard saw his eyes shift, scanning the room, they didn’t rest on the swords, but Leonard was willing to bet that he had seen them.  He was surprised he hadn’t noticed them when he walked into the room, but he supposed there were extenuating circumstances.  With a sigh he stepped back and waited for the kid to make his move, he wasn’t disappointed, with speed that was impressive for a human he had selected a short sword of the wall and was brandishing it in front of him.  It was a good choice, given the situation, the room was small, he wouldn’t have the maneuverability with a bigger sword and one of the daggers would have made the combat too close with an enemy he knew to be stronger than him.  He’d also placed himself directly in front of the wall holding the swords.  Not that he needed one, but still, it was a nice thought.  Bringing his hand up to his chin Leonard hummed, assessing the kid’s stance, it was adequate, but it was made fairly obvious he had no experience with swords.

“I see your admiring my weapons collection”

“Looks that way… yeah”

“I made them myself you know”

“Look, I think I’ll just be going now.  If you could throw me the keys” Jim’s voice only wavered slightly, he looked exhausted though and Leonard could see a slight tremble in his arms.

“That one you have there, the handle, I carved it from my brothers’ thigh bone.  I had to thin it out of course, the bone wasn’t enough to provide adequate weight without the steel.   Even so it’s terribly balanced, one of my earlier pieces I’m afraid” Leonard smirked watching the look of shock, sneak through his calm composition.  “It took me a number of years to perfect the technique”

“What? Give me… give me the keys” Jim, was standing his ground but his heart was beating even faster than before, Leonard could almost feel the thump of it, flooding into the room.

“The first one I made” Here Leonard stepped forward towards the wall, grabbing and twisting Jim’s arm as he lunged towards him.  The sword hit the ground, the sound of the clang echoing around them, Leonard just continued forward as if nothing had happened.  “This one” Leonard picked up the small dagger with awkward patters littered on it “I made this from the bones of the first Persian I ever killed, I remembered him, I never remembered the faces of the others I killed.  When you’re bathed in blood, cutting through a battle, you stop seeing faces eventually.  I waded through the bodies at night to find him after all was said and done, it was strange but I felt the need to take something from him.  Other than his life of course.  I suppose that’s what started this little obsession of mine”. 

Leonard finally looked back over towards Jim, he was standing there clutching his wrist, his eyes sharp.  “Are you quite done?  I’m feeling generous, I’ll let you keep the knife you slipped into your shoe, that’s’ made from my sister’s bones, in case you were wondering”

Jim groaned deflating even further, Leonard laughed running his hands over the swords as he approached Jim.  He was going to enjoy this.

“You’re really into bones huh?” Jim’s voice was weak, Leonard could taste the surrender in it, different from the dazed, acceptance of before.  This was heavier, laced with bitterness.

“Bones last, when everything we ever were is but dust in the wind, bones remain.  At least for a time, nothing lasts forever” Lenard smirked, shaking his head, he was starting to sound like his maker “Which brings us back full circle doesn’t it, it’s time Jim”

Leonard watched as the kid shivered, his face turned away and to the side, unwittingly presenting his neck to Leonard.

\--

Jim was out of options, he knew this.  The guy had taken the sword from him without even breaking his casual stride or batting an eyelid.  The knife, resting against his ankle had been reassuring, but now the pressure of it just made him feel anxious, its presence flipped into a threat.  He itched to bend down and remove it but he hated to show any more weakness, he was still horrified over his behavior.  Jumping, he felt a hand on his shoulder, he cringed but allowed the hand to maneuver him over to the bed, what choice did he have.  With a suddenness that took his breath he felt himself get tossed onto the bed, the chill of metal making him gasp as with inhuman speed he found himself bound, all four limbs, the metal cutting into his flesh.  Groaning he tried to lift his arms, the chains felt as if they were dragging him down into the mattress.

“They’re warded, for after you’ve turned.  Can’t have you escaping and slaughtering the town now can we? You might find them somewhat uncomfortable until you’re turned.”

“Fuck you” Jim winced at how weak his voice sounded.

“You keep saying that, Jim. However I don’t think you’re in the position to be fucking anyone” Leonard sounded different to Jim now, his voice had dropped in pitch.  Twisting his head, he tried to turn toward him but he was already moving.  Gasping, Jim looked up with wide eyes, Leonard was straddling his hips, that aggravating smirk firmly plastered to his face.  Jim flinched as his eyes flashed gold, the man’s weight a confusing presence that only added to his fear.  Jim hated to admit it to himself, but he was scared now, he could feel it poisoning him, clawing at his insides and demanding action.

“This will go better for you Jim, if you try to relax”

“I bet… I bet you say that, ughn, to all the girls” Jim tried tugging at his restraints, but he could barely lift his arms, thoughts of picking the locks were quickly dashed. 

“No Jim, generally I just take what I want” As if to demonstrate his point Leonard ripped Jim's shirt open.  Jim clenched his jaw, straining his ankles and legs against the restraints.  There was no give and trying to arch up, to throw Leonard off was impossible, his solid weight seemingly immovable. 

“I sense some tension” The bastard was still smirking, running his hands up Jim’s chest to circle his throat loosely, Jim cringed, closing his eyes.  He couldn’t stop his heart from kicking up another gear. “That must be hell on the neck Jim” Jim said nothing, but snapped his eyes open as he felt Leonard lean back.  That smirk was still in place as he ran his hand down Jim’s leg, stopping at his ankle

“Very thoughtful of you Jim, to bring this along” Jim snarled and tried to throw the vampire off, but only succeeded in exhausting himself further.  He was wearing thin, he could feel his muscles tremble, his head starting to swim.  “What are you fighting for kid?” Leonard murmured, dragging the knife up slowly until it rested on his chest “What do you have to go back to?” Jim frowned and turned away, pent up rage causing him to jerk his arms, looking for leverage. “I’m not asking to be cruel… for once, I just want to know.  Spock will no doubt take care of anyone you’re leaving behind”

Jim was silent, trying to twitch away from the hands around his neck and yet, the words hit home and finally, Jim sighed in defeat, looking up at Leonard

“I, I don’t have anyone” Jim choked out, it was harder to admit than he thought it would be.  It was a truth he had been avoiding for so long.  He still kept in contact with the kids he went through the homes with, with his old team and crew.  He still felt responsible for them, he couldn’t admit that they didn’t need him.  All the kids were grown now, had their own lives, his crew didn’t need him, a captain washed out before he reached thirty…. No.  No one needed him.  He had fought himself out of situations by tooth and nail because he had to, because people needed him.  No one needed him now, no one was counting on him to escape.  Hell he doubted if he would even be missed.  Jim frowned, brought back to the present by the cold edge of the blade lightly trailing his skin.  Looking up he met Leonard’s curious gaze.

‘You could have a family here kid, the rest aren’t like me.  After this is done you can carry on resenting me, but the others, they will give you a purpose, a home.  If you accept them, accept this” Leonard smiled softly and Jim found he believed him, even with the knife trailing across his flesh.  Meeting his eyes once more, a calmness washied over Jim.  The realization that he didn’t want to go back to his old life, constantly searching for something he was never going to find in bars and old run down mechanic shops, it shook him.  Taking a breath, Jim nodded, watching as Leonard’s eyes flashed that unnatural gold

“Do it” It was barely more than a whisper, but Leonard had obviously been waiting for this cue, as immediately Jim felt the knife cut into his skin.  Hissing Jim jerked, grunting as Leonard’s other hand not occupied with flaying him open, pushed his chest back down into the bed.  It wasn’t the first time Jim had been cut open by another, the scars littering his body being evidence to this.  But this felt different, panting, Jim shook, unsure what to do.  Looking down he could see blood welling to the surface, where Leonard was slowly dragging down his knife, diagonally, across his chest.  He felt his stomach lurch at the feeling. 

“Accept the pain Jim, take it into yourself”  Jim actually felt himself relaxing at the words, desperate for instruction, without something to fight towards he felt like he was floundering in the dark.  Liquid fire, running down his chest, the bleached white handle of the blade contrasting morbidly against the bright tint of his blood as it was slowly teased to the surface.

“God…” Jim uttered completely overwhelmed, incapable of movement, of protest, he was left only with the sensation.

“I’ve heard that name gasped, screamed, groaned so often you know” The words penetrated through Jim's fog of pain, as the fire came to a stop, leaving behind a stinging, throbbing rip in his chest.  Leonard was contemplating it, running a finger across his chest, he collected the blood that was threatening to spill onto the sheets.  Jim sucked in a breath as the man brought it to his lips and sucked it in.  Watching as Leonard’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second, before his tongue came out to trace the appendage.  Jim barely caught the ‘curious’ that was whispered under his breath, then his attention was back on Jim.

 “As I was saying, usually, that name is followed by something.  Depending of course on the activity and the people involved” Jim arched up crying out as Leonard started cutting again, he was making an ex, Jim thought wildly as he felt the blade slowly, tortuously drag towards the other cut.  Fire suffused his body once again and he was nothing but sensation, the ripples rocking his entire body as he tried to arch, tried to move but ultimately collapsed into himself.  Having no choice but to accept it with shaking limbs and a soft moan on his lips. 

“What I want to know kid….” Jim could hear his voice, but it seemed muffled, far away, the sound of it scraping against his raw nerves, he could feel it more than he could hear it. “What I want to know is, is it a please, please God, stop, I’ll do anything… or” Jim gasped in a sharp breath as once again Leonard stopped cutting, this time however, he leant down and Jim cried out as he felt the other man lick at his chest.  In long drags, his tongue rasped against the jagged flesh.  The feeling in total contrast to the blade, soft, stinging, it lit him up in a different way, it turned him inside out.  Jim shook, his body bracing, against what, he didn’t know.  Choking out a sob, Jim threw back his head, his chest burning inside and out, desperate for air.

“Pleease” Jim begged, closing his eyes against the bombardment of sensation, but as suddenly as it had started Leonard stopped and Jim sagged immediately, twitching against his bonds.

“Or…” Leonard rested his hands over the cuts, causing Jim to flinch as he leaned forward, bringing his head down to speak directly in Jim's ear as if he hadn’t stopped talking at all “Or, is it a please, God, don’t stop” Jim groaned, he felt off center, ripped open.  With a shudder, he felt Leonard run his nose along his neck, he thought of the blade, the bones along its handle, how white it looked.  Then he remembered talk of teeth and he could almost feel them slicing into his flesh already.  Jim arched his neck as he felt Leonard scrape blunt teeth along his jugular and his eyes slipped closed, he was tired of fighting.

“Don’t, Don’t stop” With his shaky confession, went the last of his fight, he felt Leonard’s lips curve into a smile against his neck and Jim turned his head away, exposing more of his neck for the vampire.  There was a long drawn out moment, where Jim was too scared to move and then, then he felt Leonard’s teeth sink into his flesh.  The pain was sharp, different to the knife, this pain traveled down his throat, and along his chest.  His flesh screamed from the sensation, a gasp tightened in his chest painfully.  It was an all-consuming pain and it felt as if it was pushing him down into the mattress, suffocating him, he was drowning in it.  Then he heard it, Leonard swallow, felt the pull on his neck and Jim moaned, inexplicably thrusting his head back further, giving the vampire more room, a plea caught on his lips.  He could hear Leonard, hear him slowly swallowing his blood, could feel him nuzzle in closer, teeth ripping into him just a bit more, as his fists clenched and releasing on his chest like a cat.

 The sensation, the knowledge that he was feeding, from him, the knowledge that he was so close, that he was taking a part of Jim into himself.  Jim was overwhelmed, it hurt, it hurt terribly, but it lit up his skin like nothing else had before, his body was throbbing, but not only from the pain.  A moan was ripped from his throat as Jim shifted his hips, his eyes rolling as he really felt the solid presence of Leonard all around him, over him.  Trembling, Jim sunk into it, his breath shallow, it was easy to lose track of time.  Pleasure shot down his spin at the soft sound of Leonard’s growl, Jim could feel the teeth shifting inside his neck and it was indescribable.  A part of Jim wanted it to end, but mostly he wanted it to go on forever. But just as he began to feel light headed, he felt Leonard draw away, licking at the wound repeatedly, a soft humming coming from the vampire’s throat.   The vibrations were too much on Jim’s over sensitive skin, but Jim’s softly mumbled protests went ignored.  Eventually though, Leonard pulled away and blearily, Jim looked up at the vampire, as he continued to loom over him.

“There, that wasn’t so bad was it” Leonard’s voice was husky, his face smeared with Jim’s blood, his eyes the brightest yellow Jim had seen, Jim frowned, he found that he missed the hazel.  Despite his cloudiness Jim found his thoughts travelling somewhere unexpected, to the words Leonard had spoken to him before.

“Who…” Jim rolled his head, wincing at the ache, it was hard to focus “Who do you have Leonard? Seems to me, all you’ve got is your bones, locked away down here.  What are you… what are you hiding from?” Jim felt the world tip, he had meant to hurt Leonard, bite into him with words, but it had come out with a touch of sympathy and concern.  Focusing on Leonard’s eyes once more, he squinted, trying to make him out, as he came into focus, so too did his tired expression, his eyes downcast.  Slowly he looked back up at Jim, a small smile at the corner of his mouth and he reached a hand up to sooth Jim’s eyes shut with his fingers.

“Sleep now Jim, you’re going to need your rest” as blackness took him over, thoughts of hazel eyes and bone handles flited through his mind.

\--

Leonard stared down at the boy beneath him, emotions waring for dominance, distracted as he was by his internal battle and the sweet smell of blood on his lips.  He almost missed it, the single word the kid muttered before sleep took him.

“Bones”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a vampire fic, so there will be bloodplay.  
> Bondage, I suppose, although it isn't explicitly sexual in this chapter.


	5. Possession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may be longer than the expected 16 chapters now, I have allowed this story to get away from me O.o  
> I am working on the next chapter of BTMOTZs. It is on the way, thank you for your patience, for those that are waiting on it. In the meantime, enjoy these crazy kids with teeth.

Leonard was sitting in the corner of his room, the lights dim, his face thoughtful.  He refused to admit he was brooding, that was Spock’s thing, he was simply thinking.  Raising his head from where it had been resting on his hands, Leonard glanced up, back towards Jim.  His body laid out on the bed, held down by the chains.  His chest rising slowly in sleep.  Leonard’s gaze tracked over the cuts he had carved into his flesh, they weren’t deep but they still contrasted disturbingly against the kid’s pale flesh.  His hand twitching Leonard looked away, licking his lips reflexively, chasing any last hint of Jim’s blood, it was long gone now though, it had been hours.  The smell lingered though, circulating the room, doing nothing but reminding Leonard of what he had taken, what he had found.  Jim’s blood had tasted incredible, when he had first smelled it, he had thought it smelled familiar like his makers blood, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.  Once he had it on his lips, sliding down his throat he knew, it tasted nothing like his maker, the bitterness of age and power unmistakably lacking, but it did taste of home, like belonging. 

To a certain degree blood just tasted like blood, but hints of lineage could usually be found in a vampire’s blood, markers of where they had come from, who made them.  It was true some humans’ tasted sweeter than others, but Leonard had never tasted a human like Jim.  A human that had familiarity, comfort and belonging pumping just under his frail skin.

Leonard was drawn from his thoughts when a slow knock echoed throughout the room.  He frowned, only Spock would visit him down here.  Glancing towards Jim he hesitated to answer, the thought of opening the door and exposing Jim to another vampire caused his stomach to turn.  But then, he had nothing to be ashamed of and little to fear from Spock.  With a determination he didn’t feel Leonard stood and walked towards the metal of the door.  Opening it, he stepped aside and allowed the other to enter.

“Spock” Leonard muttered, watching wearily as Spock looked towards Jim, a frown working its way slowly onto the vampires face.

“Leonard?”

Leonard glared, instinctively stepping between Spock and Jim, blocking him from view “Did you want something?”

“I had heard you had brought in a human, I wasn’t aware that a willing individual would need to be chained”

“The chains are for after he’s turned you ass” Leonard shifted, feeling exposed like he hadn’t in years

“Then why haven’t you turned him” Spock’s voice was its normal emotionless tenor but Leonard could tell he was pissed.  He backed up a step, placing himself closer to Jim.

“Perhaps I’m testing out this theory of Pavel’s, that a slow death makes the turn quicker”

“There is little to no evidence of this being an accurate theory, you are playing with this man’s life”

“Obviously Spock, I’m turning him”

“You are more than aware that is not what I meant Leonard”

Leonard felt a growl rising up in his chest, he would throw the other vampire out if he had to “What I’m aware of Spock, is that my affairs are none of your business”

“Incorrect, your actions here will affect the entire coven.  How you treat this man will no doubt go towards his opinion of us as a whole” Spock had stepped closer and Leonard felt himself curling forward, preparing to fight.

“I explained to him I was a special case, that the others were fluffy bunnies with teeth, honestly Spock it’s not a big deal” Leonard scoffed, resisting the urge to push Spock away from Jim, his instincts were going mad.  He hadn’t felt so out of control since his makers death.

“Why is his chest wounded?”

For this Leonard didn’t have an answer, Spock seemed to know this and stepped towards the bed his hand outstretched towards Jim.  Leonard snarled, a vicious sharp sound that was drawn up and out of him without his permission “Don’t touch him”

Spock stepped back, he eyes drilling into Leonard, assessing him “Fascinating”

\--

Jim came to abruptly, jerked from sleep at the sound of snarling.  Eyes wide, chest throbbing, it took him a moment to realize where he was and what was happening.  Feeling disorientated, not able to move, he gave a frustrated groan before moving his head but towards the sound wincing at the pain in his neck.  Groaning he shut his eyes, eventually he realized there was a second person in the room and Bones as he had decided to call him was yelling.  Fear thudded into his chest and he tugged uselessly at the restraints “Bones?” Jim called out weakly, frowning as silence enveloped the room at his words.  Opening his eyes, he came face to face with a pair of dark eyes, trying to pull away Jim winced one again, shivering as he heard a low growl coming from his other side.

“What does he speak of? Bones?” The new vampire asked, his gaze flicking down Jim’s body.  Jim glared, opening his mouth to speak but snapped his jaw shut when Leonard spoke, his voice laced with anger.

“I said, Step away from him Spock”

“Fascinating, I’ve never known you to be possessive over a human Leonard.  Perhaps protective as well?”

“Step. Away. From. Him.  I won’t ask you again” Jim shivered, having only heard Leonard speak in calm tones, he sounded like a different person now.  Finally managing to turn his head, he looked towards Leonard, He was hunched over, his eyes narrowed into slits.

“Very well”

Jim breathed a sigh of relief as this ‘Spock’ stepped away from him, with his looming presence gone he felt better able to breathe.

“These chains weren’t meant for human use, you should untie him”

“No” Leonard’s voice was nothing but a growl and Jim realized he had stepped closer to him.

“If what you said was true and he agreed to this you have nothing to worry about”

“I’m right here you know” Jim mumbled, hissing as his muscles cramped from the strain and the lack of movement.

“Forgive me, of course you are” Spock turned towards Jim, offering him the tilt of his head “My name is Spock”

“That’s a weird name” Jim muttered, somewhat entranced by the guys weird choice of haircut, his bangs a dramatic line across his head.

“It only seems strange to you as you have never heard it before.  You will grow accustomed to it I’m sure, then it will no longer be strange”

“Philosophical bunch, you vampires, aren’t you?”

“Too much time thinking, that’s his problem Jim” Leonard grumbled, suddenly right beside him, to Jim’s surprise, slowly easing of his cuffs.  Frowning Jim stretched his arms, wincing as his cuts pulled uncomfortably. As Leonard went to untie his legs, Jim brought his wrists in front of his face, he ran his hand over them gingerly they were rubbed raw.

“You've really done a number on me Bones”

“Why do you call him that, is that the name he gave you” Spock spoke up from the side

Jim grunted, sitting up he held his head gingerly, feeling it throb.  The question annoyed him, he wasn’t sure why “No”

“Feel free to leave whenever you want” Leonard bit out and Jim swayed, surprisingly he felt arms catch him at his shoulders, steadying him.  He felt strange, the contact sending a thrill up his spine.

“mmmm” Jim mumbled, he felt odd, like a giant ache and yet he felt warm, almost content.

“Jim, do you wish to stay here” Spock was speaking again and Jim managed to meet his eyes, he looked concerned, tired.  Rather Like Leonard when he had first met him, meeting his eyes as best as he was able Jim took a breath, feeling Leonard tense behind him

“I made my choice” Jim knew he could have taken that opening, he could possibly have fled with this strange vampire.  But there was a part of him that knew it was too late, he was already Leonard’s and deep down Jim knew it didn’t matter anyway, he knew he wanted to stay.  Feeling Leonard’s shoulders slump, Jim watched as Spock inclined his head, shot a look over his head to Leonard and then removed himself from the room, closing the door with finality behind him.

“Well, he seemed nice”

“He’s a pain in my ass, is what he is”

“Don’t like the other children playing with your toys?” Jim asked a bit of resentment finally showing through.

“Nah kid, I just don’t like other people messing in my affairs” Leonard was tightening his hold on Jim’s shoulders as he spoke, no doubt it would leave bruises.  Jim didn’t find that he minded.

“From what he was saying…” here Jim turned around, facing the vampire “I could have left with him”

“I wouldn’t have let you” Leonard uttered, a shocked look coming over his face, as if he was surprised at his own words.

“You could have stopped him?”

“Please” Leonard scoffed, rolling his eyes “he’s an infant, a strong infant mind you, but I could have taken him.  There aren’t many that I can’t”

“Confident aren’t we?”

“Go for as long as I have without being beaten in a fight.  You would be as well”

Unconsciously Jim leaned forward, curious at the flush along Leonard’s skin, it was fascinating to Jim.  Then the smell hit him and he groaned “Bones… I, I can smell you”

“What?”

“You, you smell… like” it was pleasant, comforting, he couldn’t place the undertone of it though… and then he realized with a lurch where he had smelled it before.  That thick cloying smell and his stomach turned with thoughts of battle and fallen enemies beside comrades. “Oh god, I think I can smell your blood” Jim tried to pull away, but Leonard was holding firm.

“That’s impossible, you haven’t even begun the change yet” there was panic tainting Leonard voice and Jim startled at it.  Once again trying to budge Leonard’s immovable hands.

“Do you… what does it smell like to you” Leonard asked, his expression weary, he was yet to let go of Jim’s arms, Jim wasn’t sure he even realized that Jim was trying to move away.

“Like… it smells like blood, but its, its more… oh god.  Is this, is this what it’s like?” Jim gasped, succeeding only in drawing more of the scent into himself and he groaned softly, falling forward, he found himself at the hollow of Leonard’s neck, nuzzling into the smell.  He felt hands come to rest at the back of his neck, surprisingly soft.

“This is not how I thought this would go” Leonard admitted, his voice rumbling through Jim as he pressed closer still, his mouth falling open as Jim breathed Leonard in.  He felt drawn tight, desperate, he could feel the blood just under the surface, could taste it on his tongue already “Bones, I want”

“All right” the vampire breathed out, his voice soft as he drew away slighting leaning to the side, Jim almost whimpered at the loss of contact before Leonard returned, pressing something solid into Jim’s palm.  Jim looked down and saw the knife Leonard had used yesterday to flay his chest open.  Startled, he almost dropped it before tightening his grip around it, almost painfully.  Slowly, watching Leonard’s eyes the entire time he brought the blade up to Leonard neck until it rested a couple of inched above his shoulder.  Watching Leonard he waited, his hands shaking, his breath fast, excitement and fear swirling together in his gut.

“Do it” The parody of Jim’s words fell from Leonard’s mouth with the force that Jim's voice had been lacking.  Shaking Jim pressed the blade against the man’s neck, drawing it down, watching as blood welled up and traveled down the surface of the blade.  It glinted at him mockingly and he felt something in him clench, all at once he had thrown down the knife and he felt himself leaning forward into Leonard.  Pausing an inch from his skin Jim groaned, the horror of what he was about to do breaking through his haze.  But then there was a hand at the back of his head and he was pressed effortlessly against Leonard's neck. 

The smell, the taste, it took him over, he only had to rest there, his lips automatically surrounding the wound and the blood travelled into his mouth, not needing any encouragement.  As it hit his tongue, Jim’s whole body jerked with the pleasure of it.  Thick, heavy and metallic, it consumed him, lit him up and then, he swallowed.  Moaning Jim shifted closer to Leonard, his tired arms coming up to grasp onto his shoulders, his vision whited out for a moment before he saw flashes of blood, carnage, skin, he could taste power, rage, anger, devotion and desperation.  Could taste it running wild over his tongue and down his throat, it was Leonard Jim thought wildly, he felt as if he was tasting his soul.  Biting down with his blunt teeth Jim attacked the wound, encouraging more blood to come to the surface and felt the vampire beneath him buckle with a gasp.  Jim took this as encouragement and bit harder, running his tongue along the jagged edge, he felt his body arch, come alive as he the vampire beneath him trembled.  He was falling Jim noted distantly, Leonard was falling back into the mattress, dragging Jim with him, his hand still firmly clenched behind his head, threading through his hair.  Jim moaned, sucking desperately at the wound, more blood spilled down his throat and he felt as if he could never stop drinking, tasting.  Grasping firmly onto Leonard he maneuvered himself so that he was lined up, pinning Leonard to the bed, their bodies slotting together like they were made for this. But it was a distant awareness, almost his entire focus on Leonard's neck.

“Jim” The name was uttered like a prayer and Jim pressed himself closer, thrusting his hips without thought, but stuttering at the realization that he was hard, as was Leonard.  The shock finally enough to rip Jim’s mouth away from Lenard’s neck.

“What, what’s happening” Jim groaned, unable to tear his gaze away from the wound on Leonard’s neck. Planting his hands on the bed Jim thrust forward violently with his hips, the friction overwhelming, his head dropped down to lick at the jagged flesh, moans and grunts tumbling from his lips.

“I have no idea, fuck” Leonard sounded wrecked, Jim clutched harder to Leonard at the husky tone, trying to resist biting back into his neck, ripping him apart with his blunt teeth.  Thrusting forward again Jim’s whole body bowed, his head came at Leonard’s shoulder, panting, going mad with want.  “Leonard” he said his name in desperation, he felt as if he was drowning and didn’t know what he needed to reach for in order to be saved.  All he knew was that Leonard held the key.  Gasping Jim found himself flipped, their positions reversed, the weight of the vampire above him grounding him, the only thing keeping him sane at that moment.

“Jim…” Opening his eyes Jim looked at Leonard, watched as his eyes moved from gold to hazel, watched as Leonard’s eyes flicked down to his mouth.  Jim gulped, the sudden lack of movement making him nervous, with wide eyes he waited.  He felt Leonard’s knee come to rest between his legs, encouraging him to open them, Jim did so, the questions on his lips never making it passed them.  Jim felt Leonard open his fly, his hand deftly reaching inside his pants and firmly grasping him.  Throwing his head back Jim arched up into the warm grip, shook as he felt Leonard spread his pre-cum over the head. “Bones”

“Shhhhh” Leonard muttered bending down and nuzzling into the side of Jim’s face, licking at a trail of blood.  Jim shook, thrusting into his hand and turning his head, giving over to him completely

“Please” Jim choked out, his breath coming in painful pants now, wishing he could feel Leonard’s skin against his own bear chest, reaching out he grasped at his shoulders, trying to center himself.  Closing his eyes against the onslaught of feelings he froze as he felt Leonard licking at his mouth, removing the blood from his face in slow torturous passes.  Groaning Jim thrust into Leonard’s hand that had gone still, allowing Jim to move into it as he pleased and pulled at Leonard’s shoulder.  Slowly Leonard’s licking changed to something more resembling a kiss and their lips met and both of them gasped falling into each other.  Hissing he felt Leonard draw a sharp tooth against his lip, cutting into him and then he was back, sucking at his lips, moaning and trembling against Jim, their tongues stroking against each other.  Startled at the taste of his own blood, Jim frowned at the difference between it and Leonard’s, unconsciously seeking out more of the taste from Leonard’s mouth, lifting up from the bed in desperation and curiosity.  Fire built in his stomach as he rolled his hips distractedly, more interested in the dance of their mouths, until Leonard pulled away and Jim gasped for air he hadn’t realized he was lacking.

“Leonard…”

“Hush” the breath of the word slid heavily against his abused neck and Jim arched into the sensation exposing himself.

“Please” Jim rasped, his body trembling with anticipation.  His eyes rolled back as he felt Leonard lick up his neck at the same time he tightened his grip around his cock, giving a rough stroke.  Another plea was at the tip of his lips and then Leonard bit down, Jim jerked, his entire body going taught as the pain moved down his body, snapping at him right down to his toes.  But as before, when Leonard started drinking, Jim collapsed, the sharp pain turning to a throb that pulsed through him. Gasping for air Jim clutched at Leonard harder, trying to get impossibly closer.  Jim moaned throwing his head back as Leonard snarled, digging his teeth in further, cutting him open.  The hand not pleasuring Jim came up to hold his head to the side, as he swallowed greedily.  The possessiveness in the action shocked Jim to his core, his body clenched hard at the feeling and he was coming, his vision whiting out.  It seemed like a secondary sensation however and as Leonard removed his hand and instead used it to pin Jim’s hands above his head, he found he preferred it that way.  Jim allowed his body to sag, lazy pleasure throbbing and rolling through his body in waves as Leonard pulled at his neck.  He didn’t fight it, when the exhaustion hit him, when his head became light and darkness crept into the corner of his eyes.  He just sighed and fell into it like an embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always to those who are reading, commenting and leaving Kudos xx  
> If you want to chat you can find me on tumblr @Krefftii


	6. Forsaken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed a date in an old authors note O.o don't look at it, that way lies plot holes.
> 
> BTMOTZ chapter 16 is finished I am just editing it. I have no upload schedule for this fic like I did at the beginning of BTMOTZ and I have no average word count. I will update this as often as I can, which at the moment, due to myself being on holidays (beside the occasional short shift) is quite often. I have already started working on chapter seven.
> 
> Strap yourselves in, its flashback time
> 
> I don't own them :)

**_450BC - Athens_ **

_“Ossa, wake now.  Danti will be here soon, he won’t be happy to find us like this”_

_“I can’t find it in myself to care” Leonard at the time Ossa groaned, lolling on the silk sheets, stretching his arms above his head”_

_“We should not have committed such an act in this place?” the woman next to him sounded chastised, amusement tinting her voice._

_“Danti’s bed? Yes well, perhaps you’re right.  It was fun though wasn’t it?”_

_“You’re mad”_

_“Yes, I have heard them say that” Ossa darted to the side pulling the young woman into his arms, delighting in her squeal “I have heard them whisper other things as well” Leonard pulled her tight into his arms, nuzzling her ear “Terrible things” Ossa smirked as he felt the woman tremble, rolling on top of her effortlessly.  “Besides, since when do you care what Danti thinks? He has no say over what we do, we are mated” Ossa purred when the woman caressed the side of his face gently._

_“Oh Ossa, you know this isn’t true”_

_“I don’t care, I love you Aspacia, that is all that should matter.  I have spilled blood for you, fought for you and I have won.  Why should it matter if we are truly mated or not”_

_“Because my dear, terrible Ossa I wish to find my mate.  Unlike yourself”_

_Ossa snarled, rolling away from the bed and standing to find his clothing “Why do you care for this mating? You saw what it did, is still doing to Danti”_

_“You don’t understand, you didn’t see them together.  When she was alive… it was glorious”_

_“How is it worth it Aspacia? When all you leave behind is ash, if when you die you know your mate will be left a shell.  I will never allow such a thing to happen to me or to the unlucky one destined to be my mate”_

_“You would run from your destiny? From love?”_

_“I don’t believe in destiny, I have met beings more powerful than the gods that are worshipped here, I believe we make our own lives.  I won’t be controlled by some ‘mystic’ connection in my blood”_

_“Then I pity you Ossa”_

_Ossa growled, stalking towards the woman, gripping her arm and yanking her so that their faces were level “and I pity you, a slave to your instincts, your blood, I could think of nothing worse” Ossa grunted as he was shoved backwards, his feet sliding against the floors.  Aspacia was stalking towards him, her head held high, her eyes shining yellow._

_“You think you are not a slave to your blood? Do not think I haven’t seen you in battle, covered in it, the call of it demanding you destroy all that is around you until you are sick with it, the power.  You think I haven’t seen you seducing those poor girls in the street, leading them to their doom.  You are the one who is lost, to be pitied.  If you would take the one good thing from a life such as ours and walk away from it”_

_“Leave” Ossa bit out, biting his tongue, barely restraining himself from lashing out_

_“Gladly” Ossa watched from the corner of his eye as she picked up her clothes, getting changed with more grace than he was sure was possible.  It hurt, knowing he may not get the chance to see it again.  As she paused on her way out the door Ossa glanced up warily, watching as her eyes faded back to that startling blue that he loved so much_

_“I have made a life for myself here, a human one.  It isn’t perfect but it is good, I won’t have anything or anyone compromise that.  Don’t contact me again Ossa” She was gone before he could reply, her inhuman speed making the parting far more sudden then he was prepared for.  After a moment of looking after her, Ossa straightened and moved towards his weapons and prepared for the arrival of Danti.  He only had one loyalty to worry about now, that to his maker.  It was all he needed and he would make sure it was the only loyalty he would have._

**_2060 AD USA_ **

Leonard rolled away from Jim, breath he didn’t need rasping through his lungs.  Rolling his eyes shut he let the sensation of the blood shooting through his system take him over, his nerves firing and coming alive.  He could feel himself trembling, he hadn’t felt anything so intense in years.  He knew he had taken too much, he had barely managed to pull away but he couldn’t think about that now all he could concentrate on was the fire.  He hadn’t meant to kiss him, he hadn’t meant to do any of it, beyond biting him, but the possessiveness he had felt was like nothing he had experienced before.  As soon as Spock had been out the door he had wanted to stake his claim in whatever way possible.  He hadn’t thought, he had just acted and slowly, as his mind cleared, as he came down from the blood, Leonard slowly began to realize what he had done. 

Turning his head Leonard looked towards Jim, he was breathing at least, his brow covered in sweat, Leonard debated if he should try and wake him or not.  After a moment of contemplating his breathing he let him rest, he knew he needed to go and talk to Spock but the thought of walking out and leaving Jim felt nearly impossible.  Frowning Leonard poked at Jim’s side, when there was no reaction he picked up his wrist, ignoring the bruised and broken flesh he locked it into one of the cuffs.  Watching as the arm floped back heavily onto the bed from the weight of the chains, made him feel slightly better.  Standin, Leonard scanned his eyes over the rest of his body, the site of his fly undone made him pause, his eyes squinting in discomfort.  Walking over he bent down, doing up the fly and straightening his shirt where it had ridden up over his stomach.  With a frown Leonard actually looked down at his hands and realized he needed to wash them, he barely remembered making the decision to reach inside Jim’s jeans.  He wasn’t even sure if he had made the decision, one moment he had registered Jim’s arousal and the next he was working his hand over Jim’s shaft. The motions had clearly been agreeable to Jim and Leonard had fallen deeper as the kid’s pleasure had made itself known in his blood.  The smell seemingly sweeter and brighter, pulling him under more suddenly then he thought possible, the hint of the taste from his lips had driven him mad.  When he had finally bitten into Jim’s neck he had barely been able to concentrate on anything else, the taste, the feel of it slipping into his throat was unexpectedly intense and now here was, gazing down at the human.  

Shaking himself out of his thoughts Leonard slipped into the bathroom to get cleaned up, shower, erase the scent of the human from his skin, so that he might be able to concentrate.  He firmly told himself it wasn’t so that others would be able to scent the human and try and make a claim over him.  He was above such instincts.  Finally stepping out of the bathroom, Leonard walked over to the dresser, making a point of ignoring the figure on the bed, he dressed and left the room quickly.  He wasn’t holding his breath to keep out the scent of the human.

As usual Leonard didn’t need to ask where Spock was and he was lucky in that he didn’t see many other vampires milling about.  It was day so most were hidden away until night time, their body clocks telling them to go to ground, or the next best thing, their beds.  Grunting Leonard pushed through Spock’s door, he didn’t bother to knock.  Raising his eyebrows he thought perhaps that was a mistake, watching as Nyota glared over her shoulder and dismounted her mate.

“Leonard, how nice to see you”

“Nyota, ever so sorry, were you not done?” Leonard just watched, not sparing a glance for Spock at his exaggerated sigh.

“Come get me when he’s finished having a bitch fit will you Spock” Nyota spoke, shooting one last glare over her shoulder and with that she slipped into a robe and was gone.  Smiling sweetly and flipping her the bird Leonard waited until she was out the door before turning to Spock, his face falling into a glare.

“We have a problem Spock” Leonard muttered as Spock slipped into a pair of pants, his face as emotionless as ever.

“I agree, you finding your mate in a human would be problematic at the best of times.  You finding your mate in a human that is to become a figure head for this coven is what you could call… a nightmare”

“My mate? Please, he’s just some kid” Leonard scoffed, rolling his eyes at the ceiling.

“Leonard, I know what I saw”

“You didn’t see shit” Leonard snapped, his hackled well and truly raised.

“I do not wish to argue Leonard”

“Then stop with the accusations”

“I’m hardly accusing you, I only mean to point out an issue, that is likely to complicate our plans”

“No”

“No?” Spock asked, coming to stand in front of Leonard, pulling a shirt over his head an infuriating eyebrow raised “I’m surprised you are here actually, I imagine he will start to shift soon”

“I haven’t…”

“You still haven’t turned him?” Spock sighed, his eyes carefully scrutinizing Leonard “I had feared as much”

“I plan to”

“You are stalling”

“Bullshit”

“You know his life will be in danger once we make him a part of this coven, more so when we present him as our leader”

“I don’t give a fuck about him Spock, he’s just some human”

“Then give him to me, I will turn him.  If what you say is true, that should not be a problem”

Leonard felt the rage at the words but didn’t register that he had acted until he noticed that he had Spock pinned up against a wall, a hand at his throat “You will not touch him” Leonard watched with a sick satisfaction as Spock’s eyes widened in shock before they narrowed in accusation and Leonard pulled away abruptly, frustration with himself rising.

“What is wrong with me” Leonard muttered, pulling at his hair, pacing the room.

“A mating bond had begun to form between yourself and the human, it will likely send you mad if…”

“If what Spock? I skipped all the lessons on this shit, I figured it to be a myth, I have never seen a vampire mate with a human”

“A vampire cannot mate with a human, if you don’t change him and consummate the bond it will drive you insane”

“There has to be another option”

“There is, you could kill the human”

“Right… Okay” Leonard nodded, his hands falling from his hair as the path suddenly seemed very clear.

“Leonard you can’t seriously be considering killing Jim”

“I’ve lied for a long time Spock, all that time was unmated.  I don’t see any reason to change that now.  Especially not with some human that will no doubt be an uncontrollable fledgling.  You will have to find someone else for a figure head.  Were done here”

“Leonard” Leonard paused at the shock evident in Spock’s voice, but there was nothing for it he wouldn’t tie himself to such a creature.

“You can try to stop me Spock, but I wouldn’t advise it”

“Leonard consider what this will do to you.  Even an incomplete mating bond when broken will incapacitate you for days.  Add on top of that the guilt”

“Then I best break it now, while it is still reasonably quiet out there.  As for the guilt, I have no attachment to this human beyond what my blood is telling me I should.  The only guilt I will feel is for the life of yet another human sentenced to die when he was dragged into our mess”

“And what of Jim’s thoughts on the matter?”

“From what he’s told me his life wasn’t that spectacular anyway.  I will make it quick, he won’t know”

“He deserves to know Leonard”

Leonard straightened at the words, something finally hitting home.  This he could agree on.  “He deserves a lot better than any of this” Leonard muttered, his hand resting on the open door

“Then give him what he deserves Leonard, a life with your mate, it is beyond explanation”

“I can’t do that”

“Why?”

Leonard sighed, rubbing at his eyes, he was starting to feel his years again.  He longed to go to ground, but he couldn’t leave when the coven was in such disarray.

“I’ll let you know when it’s done, I’m not discussing this with you anymore Spock”

With that, Leonard left, leaving the door open behind him.

\--

Jim moaned, his head was pounding, there was a ringing in his hears and his stomach was cramping.  With a grunt he found he couldn’t turn over, looking down he saw the cuff over his wrist, pulling at it half heatedly he winced and curled into himself as the nausea made itself known.  Squinting his eyes, he realized Leonard wasn’t in the room anywhere and the realization seemed to make everything worse, groaning Jim hid his head under his arm.  The soft lights in the room feeling like they were burning through his head.  Hearing the door open Jim winced at the sound, trying to escape further into his own body, letting out a sob he clutched at his stomach. 

“Jim?”

Jim winced, confusion splitting him in two.  He felt tension leave his shoulders at the sound of the familiar voice but nausea rolled through his body all the stronger at same sound.  His fear spiking and heart rate pounding in his ears, his head lolling to the side, dizziness confusing him, disorientating him.  “Bones?” Jim asked weakly, not looking up, the effort with which to do so evading him completely.

“Why do you call me that” Jim frowned, he sounded distant, lacking the confidence of their previous encounters

“Thought that would be…” Jim paused as his stomach rolled “Obvious… oh god”

“Are you ill?”

Jim found himself rolling his eyes at the question “No.. I jus… oh… I think I’m gonna be sick” Jim lurched up, his head pounding his stomach rolling, he felt as if he was falling apart at the seams.  Somehow a bucket appeared in front of him and he reached horribly, his stomach contents emptying into the bucket.  Panic caught in his throat when he eventually opened his eyes, panting.  He saw the color of his vomit and choked back a shout as he tried to back up as he realized what the red staining his vomit was “Oh god” Dry retching his body shook with the movement, the metallic taste in his mouth making itself known.  Eventually, exhausted Jim flopped back over onto his back, his stomach aching, his head swimming.  Feeling a cloth at his mouth he turned away from it weakly, groaning in protest.  However when the straw touched his lips he took it in greedily, trying to follow it when it was pulled away from him.

“Easy”

“What do you care” Jim grumbled, hands going to hold his head, hoping against hope to stop the pounding.

“I’m sorry Jim”

“No you’re not” Jim replied knowing this to be true, you wanted this, remember all your logical arguments

“No, not for that, for… killing you”

“Again you said that was part of it, why would you be sorry now?”

“That was then, the plan can’t happen now.  I have to kill you Jim”

Jim groaned, his muscles tensed but refused to lift him from the bed “What? So after all that you’re just going to leave me here to die.  What the fuck is wrong with you man?”

“No, I will make it quick”

“Oh well thank you so very fucking much.  You know what, fuck you”

“Things are happening that you couldn’t possibly understand”

“Oh bite me” Jim muttered weakly, frustrated beyond belief that he barely had the strength to move.  He couldn’t do a single thing to protect himself.  It was his own fault, trusting a stranger, a vampire no less.

“Jim, I am sorry”

“If you’re going to kill me, just do it.  I don’t have unlimited patience for your crazy ass you know”

“Goodbye Jim”

“like I said, fuck you”

Jim managed to open his eyes, grateful that he could at least face his death with them open.  Glaring he watched as Leonard sat on the bed next to him.  Seeming to gather himself before he leant over Jim, his hands going to either side of his head, his expression serious, meeting Jim’s eyes.  Oh, so he was going to snap his neck, Jim shivered, remembering the sounds of bones cracking under his own hands, perhaps this was a just punishment after all.  Thinking over the nightmarish adventure of the last however many hours Jim frowned, his head was still pounding, it was always possible he was hallucinating, still stuck in that bar, or outside on the pavement knocked out cold.  Glaring into Leonard eyes though Jim knew this wasn’t true, Leonard eyes were now completely hazel, looking into them he couldn’t help but feel a small pang of regret at not seeing this future of Leonard's.  The crazy future that the vampire had laid out before him.  Leonard nodded at him, his eyes focused and sure, Jim frowned but closed his eyes, weakly trying to move one last time before collapsing more heavily into the bed.  This was it, after all those times, where he had beaten the odds, he would die here in some blood drinker’s basement, for some lost cause he knew nothing about.  Great.  Perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and commenting guys, I am fairly excited about this fic. But as always very nervous! The support you guys have shown has been overwhelming. Thank you x


	7. Cessation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of a longer one here, sorry to keep you waiting on that edge ;)  
> I listened to X Gonna Give It To Ya by DNX on repeat while writing this... not appropriate but Deadpool has polluted my mind in the best way possible. However I also listened to and have been listening to Itch by Nothing But Thieves which is a beautiful song and I feel like it fits this fic :) Go have a listen if you wish, it is on youtube.  
> It is midnight and I am exhausted O.o I have started back at university and I have already started the mantra of 'one year left, hang in there' It has been a long trot but I almost have my masters. I hope to keep the updates coming but it may get a bit unpredictable now that university has taken over my life once again.

**_450BC – Athens_ **

_“Stop this Ossa, nothing lasts forever, we have talked about this”_

_“Danti, please.  Not only are you giving up your life, but you choose to give it up to these peasants? A mob of mortals who cannot think of beyond the understandings of their own petty lives?”_

_“You never did understand the wonder of human life Ossa, I thought you being a healer would have instilled some empathy into you”_

_“Please” Ossa scoffed, his face turning ugly in his frustration “what empathy I had was destroyed in your dungeons, left to be tortured until madness took me”_

_“That was somewhat regrettable I must admit”_

_“I don’t ask for your regret, I ask that you stay with me.  I don’t understand this world Danti, I can’t live in it like the others do, mixing with humans.  I have no interest in it”_

_“None of my children have but I have no doubt you will find your way, perhaps even find a mate”_

_“You know I do not wish for a mate Danti! I have seen what it has done to you, look at you.  You are but a shadow of what you once were”_

_“You know nothing of which you speak.  I wouldn’t trade my time with her for anything in the known world”_

_Ossa shook his head looking sadly over to his maker, he was clearly broken, his grief clouding his judgement. “I won’t allow this to happen”_

_“I’m afraid you won’t have a choice”_

_“I will gather my siblings”_

_“Those that are left have little interest in keeping me alive, you know this”_

_“Adrasteia will assist me”_

_“She is at least four days from here”_

_“She will feel your death, she won’t understand” Ossa tried again, desperation tinting his voice_

_“She will heal, as will you”_

_“I won’t allow it”_

_“Do you truly wish for our last meeting to end with us fighting?  You know it will do no good”_

_Ossa paused, considering.  He could hear the angry jeers coming from outside, could hear them banging on the wood.  Mindless the lot of them.  It wouldn’t be long now until they came through.  Standing Ossa faced his maker, knowing it would be the last time.  But knowing he had to try. Striking forward he managed to get one hit in, but then all he knew was darkness, as the world shifted away he heard his makers voice against his ear._

_“I am sorry Ossa”_

_\--_

_Blinking back the darkness, Ossa came to.  Reaching up he felt the bloody wound on the side of his head, snarling he reached for his dagger and attempted to stand.  At that moment though he felt as if a hundred jagged swords had pushed their way into his stomach and chest.  The pain was maddening, cutting through him like ice.  Collapsing he moaned pitifully, clutching at himself, knowing what this meant.  With tears in his eyes Ossa forced himself up and staggered through the door, there he bore witness to the madness.  It was chaos, outside the crowd cheered, jeered and paraded through the streets.  On a pike he saw his maker’s head, his mouth hanging open in a parody of surprise.  Clutching his dagger in one hand and the door with the other Leonard staggered outside, barely able to take a breath through the pain but needing to do something.  Anything.  As the pain lessened just slightly, enough that he could move, Ossa threw himself into the crowd.  He would have his revenge, if nothing else._

_After, as he stood in the empty streets, blood dripping from his body he felt a presence behind him but didn’t bother turning._

_“Danti wouldn’t have wanted this”_

_“Aspacia, take your self-riotousness elsewhere.  I am done with your judgements.  You know nothing of Danti”_

_“You are wrong, I knew him when he was still alive.  As you have said, he was already fading into the shell you knew when he made you.  The old Danti, the Danti I knew, he wouldn’t have wanted this”_

_“Then perhaps he shouldn’t have sacrificed himself to mortal kind, allowed them to tear his body limb from limb”_

_“He felt it was a justice”_

_“To leave me behind?”_

_“You are not alone”_

_“I am”_

_“I am here, if you need me”_

_“I won’t stand by and be witness to you destroying yourself with this idea of mating nor do you want me in your life, you said as much”_

_“Where will you go then Ossa? Where else is there?”_

_Ossa allowed his eyes to fall closed against the image of the bodies in the street, women and men alike lay scattered in parts at his feet._

_“Anywhere but here” walking to the center of the square Ossa searched through the bodies before finding his makers.  Ignoring the pain still stabbing through his chest, he pulled out his dagger and frowned with determination.  There was one thing he had to do before he left this place, left the world to do what it would without him in it._

**2060 AD**

Leonard frowned, watching as Jim closed his eyes.  His hands twitched, he needed only move them and it would be done.  Hesitating he watched as the humans chest rose, fast in his panic, his limbs were shaking, trembling like a leaf.  Panic rose in his own chest, Leonard’s hands shook, a sweat broke out on his forehead, cursing he pulled away, bile rising in his throat.  He physically couldn’t do it, he was already trapped in this nightmare, snarling he turned away from the human that lay trembling on his bed.  Without looking back he headed for the door, leaving it swinging open behind him.  If another were to find the human and finish him off, only good could come from it.

\--

Jim watched with wide eyes as Leonard exited the room, leaving Jim once again tied to the bed and gasping for breath.  “Okay then” Jim flinched as his voice echoed around the empty room.  Looking around he thought out his options, they were limited... or non existent.  Frowning he looked towards the door, the very open door.  The very open door that left him exposed to a house full of vampires.  That was concerning, perhaps more concerning than the thought of his very own psychotic vampire returning and finishing the job he apparently couldn’t or wouldn’t finish.  As if things couldn’t get any worse it wasn’t long before Jim heard footsteps coming down the stairs, he tugged desperately on his wrist, turning with difficulty he brought his other arm up weakly, attempting to push the metal off, if he could dislocate his thumb he might be able to slip out.

“Jim, don’t tax yourself, I mean you no harm”

Jim turned towards the sound of the voice, but refused to relax at all when he saw it was the other vampire, Jim struggled to remember his name, his fatigue fogging his mind.

“Spirk?”

“Spock”

“Spock… right, so are you here to kill me as well” Jim resisted rolling his eyes at the madness he found himself surrounded by.

“No, in fact I am very glad to see you alive” Jim looked the other over carefully but he seemed genuine so he allowed himself to relax slightly.

“You and me both, what is that?” Jim startled at the syringe in the vampires hand

“It is what Mr Scott refers to as a cocktail, it should help”

“I don’t need help, thanks” Jim tried to shift away but his limbs refused to co-operate

“As I said Jim I mean you no harm, although I can hardly blame you for your lack of trust.  Leonard has been… unpredictable during this process”

“You’re telling me… no don’t… Agh!” Jim flinched rubbing at his neck where Spock had injected him

“It will help” soothed Spock in the most unsoothing voice Jim had ever heard.  He chose to say nothing though, it was hard enough trying to stay conscious at this point.

“I must apologize for Leonard, he was somewhat troubled when he learnt that you are his mate”

“I’m sorry… his what?” Jim asked, a shot of adrenaline snapping his eyes open.

“Your mate, it is written into vampire biology.  You may be experiencing some of the symptoms now, even in your human form”

“So what? He tried to kill me because I’m his long lost love” Jim snorted, his eyes finally rolling at the madness

“Mate, it is purely biological, at least for now, not emotion.  Unfortunately Leonard does not wish to be tied to anything or anyone beyond this coven”

“Could he not just, I don’t know…. Stop being my mate?”

“Unfortunately that is not how the process works.  Being mated is a deep and powerful connection, even before it is consummated.  I had guessed you two may have had this connection, even though it is rare for vampires to find their mates among humans.  However as I stated before I must apologize, I did not expect his reaction”

“Look… Spock, I don’t know what you have all been smoking but I am nobody’s mate”

“If only that were true Jim, this will cause quite a lot of problems, I assure you”

Jim scoffed, tugging on his restraint he found that he was feeling better, his head was clearing. “I'd apologize, but fuck you”

“It is hardly your fault Jim”

“Can you get me out of this cuff?”

“I’m afraid not, Leonard has the keys”

“And Leonard is…?”

“Leonard I believe is working through his objections to what must happen here.  I believe he will see reason soon and return to you.  He has wasted more than enough time already” Jim watched as Spock gazed of into the distance, a small line between his brows “I often wonder how he has lived for so long, being such an illogical creature”

“Whatever you say Spock” Jim muttered, really not believing a word that was coming out of his mouth.  Vampires, he could deal with their existence but mates, mates that were written into biology? No, that seemed to far-fetched. 

“I have no way of locking the door to this room, I will stay in case others should decide to venture down here”

“You’re playing guard dog?”

“I am neither playing, nor am I a dog Jim”

“Whatever, maybe you could guard the door from the other side?”

Jim watched with relief as the other man nodded and took himself outside, the mere presence of him in the room made his skin crawl.  Some part of him could tell he wasn’t right, wasn’t natural, it knew there was a predator in the room.  Frowning Jim refused to consider why he didn’t feel this way when Leonard was in the room.

\--

Leonard ran his fingers distractedly over the hilt of his dagger before slowly dragging it out from its place inside his coat.  This was the dagger he always kept with him, the dagger he used to avenge the death of his maker.  He never liked to be parted from it for long, at this point it seemed more like an extension of himself.  As he walked he let hit hang loosely from his hand.   He had driven outside of the city and headed to one of the areas where he knew clearing teams hadn’t been in weeks.  It was a long drive but it served to allow him time to calm down somewhat.  Fury still bubbled under the surface of his skin though, he knew he needed an outlet, as he left the car and walked through the rubble of the abandoned city he listened.  It didn’t take long before her heard the familiar sounds of being followed, slowing down he found a clearing and then, he waited.  Slowly the sounds increased in volume and number, dragging footsteps and choked off moans.  Ghouls he thought, a smirk crossing his face, that was good, they were strong, quick when they had a reason to be.  It would be a challenge.  From the sounds there were at least ten of them.

Before long Leonard grew sick of waiting, lifting his dagger he sliced across his wrist, throwing the scent of his blood into the air.  Although ghouls preferred the flesh of humans they wouldn’t turn down anything that bled.  Leonard smiled as the scent of his blood caused the ghouls to flood from their hiding places, their claws drawn and their sickeningly red eyes wide with madness.  As Leonard ripped back the head of the first ghoul that approached, burying his dagger in its eye socket he recalled that his maker had known these creations to be their predecessors, a mistake of the old ones that they never bothered to eradicate.  Leonard wasn’t sure if he would have bothered to pay them any attention either, lifting another into the air he threw it back towards three more that were progressing towards Leonard, bowling them over.  As they screamed their frustrations Leonard winced at the horrible sound, he supposed it would have been a mercy to kill them though.  They were nothing but animated rotting corpses, strong animated corpses, Leonard mused as one managed to get a hit in to his ribs, grabbing it, he tore the creatures Jaw away from its head before kicking it back in disgust.  Spitting, Leonard grimaced at the rancid blood of the ghouls that had managed to work its way into his mouth.  Slicing his dagger he worked towards ending the last of them as quickly as he could, all the while refusing to admit that there was something calling to him back at the house, something that was far stronger than the call for blood and violence.

Leonard stood, once again, as he had done countless times in this life, drenched in blood and surrounded by the bodies of his victims.  Clutching at the dagger in his hand Leonard sighed, his eyes slipping closed.  The pull was getting stronger as his resolve weakened, huffing out a resigned breath he allowed the dagger to fall to the ground amidst the bodies.  Perhaps it was time to let go.

\--

The drive back to the house felt as if time had stopped moving.  Leonard had grown used to the passage of time, had learned to drift in moments such as these, where not much was happening.  Usually when he was driving he would drift, but now he felt restless like he was about to come apart at the seams.  Finding himself accelerating Leonard couldn’t bring himself to stop until he screeched to a stop outside the house.  Leonard exited the car in the same movement that he put on the hand break, slamming through the door he moved downstairs, snarling at a waiting Spock who simply raised an eyebrow and stepped out of the way.  Moving inside the room he slammed the door shut with a finality that was satisfying in a way that closing his door had never been before.  Resting his head against the door Leonard took a breath, his body relaxing by degrees now that he was in the same room as his… mate.  Cringing Leonard forced himself to say the word, at least in the relative safety of his own head.  There was nothing for it, he had no choice but to accept it and hope for the best.  Pulling away from the door he slowly turned to face Jim who was staring at him curiously, anger and resentment clouding his eyes.  Perhaps a small amount of relief showing through as well.

“Did you murder a whole village while you were out?”

“No, just a nest of ghouls” Leonard replied, watching as the kids shoulders sagged slightly at the words

“You’re relieved”

“That you didn’t kill a bunch of people? Well, yeah”

“No, that I returned”

“Hardly, you were going to kill me” Leonard noticed the kids eyes shift to the side.

“So you know that I can’t then?”

“I had an inkling when you ran out in a huff, yeah”

Leonard frowned, anger fighting with an urge to take and claim.  Turning away he started to move towards the bathroom.

“I’m going to shower, ghoul blood burns like hell” Leonard couldn’t help but smirk at the small laugh from the human “When I get back, I want to turn you”

“Just like that hmm?”

“I have left it too long already” Leonard avoided Jim’s eyes.  He wasn’t sure why.

“Can you untie me before you go?”

“I can, I won’t.  Enjoy you last few moments of being human”

“Fuck you”

Leonard ignored him and stepped into the bathroom, he hadn’t been lying the blood did burn.

\--

Jim squirmed, frustrated beyond belief, he was getting whip lash from Leonard’s change of moods and motives.  Staring at the metal door gloomily he avoided moving his hand.  He had dislocated his thumb in the end but had only managed to cause himself more pain.  Moving his eyes to the ceiling he silently fumed, at this point he just wanted it to be over, the frustrating thing was that he now knew once it was over it wouldn’t really be.  He would be stuck in this mad house for god knows how long, he knew next to nothing about vampires, how they functioned.  People said they were the walking dead and Leonard did say they had no need to breathe.  Pondering over this Jim frowned a realization dawning on him that was horrifying and all consuming.

“LEONARD? LEONARD!” Jim yelled feeling true panic well up in his chest.  As the vampire moved out of the bathroom pulling on a top, steam following him it only worked to heighten Jim’s fear.  “Leonard!”

“What? Don’t tell me you’re having a panic attack now? After all this time? Do I slap you? Isn’t that what you do? Humans are so strange”

“Bones!”

“What? Good god man stop that infernal racket”

“Tell me vampires have sex?!”

“What?”

“Oh god they don’t do they?  I was laying here and I was thinking… your dead… blood and flow and things and then I remembered you didn’t… I mean, I was the only one when you and I… I mean”

“Jim… stop… please”

“But I like sex, I mean I love sex, it’s important”

“Jim!”

Jim stopped, finally, his eyes wide in his panic his breath coming fast. For the first time wishing Spock didn’t give him the ‘cocktail’ he felt energized in his panic, on the cusp of hysteria.

“Vampires have sex, quite a lot of it in fact”

“Oh! Good… I mean… that’s good”

Leonard looked puzzled, running a towel through his hair before coming to sit on the bed next to Jim and undoing his restraint.  “Was there anything else you wanted to ask me?”

Jim Winced as Leonard ran a hand over his own damaged one, shooting him a scowl when he found his thumb.  Snapping it back into place without a second though.  Jim cried out, snatching his hand away from the vampire.

“Don’t be a baby”

“You could have warned me… and no, I don’t have any questions.  I just want it to be over”

“It can be quite a long process” Leonard was frowning, still avoiding Jim’s eyes, it made him nervous.

“I don’t really want to know…”

“Listen anyway”

Jim nodded resigned

“Don’t fight it, it will be difficult but the more you try and relax and let it take you over, the easier it will be”

“Kinda hard not to fight dying” Jim muttered, massaging his hand distractedly

“Try.  When it happens… The final shift, you will know.  Your chest will feel heavy, the pain will be… quite immense… I am sorry Jim but there is nothing that will help.  Just try to remember that it will pass”

“Okay” Jim replied quietly, the weight of what was about to happen settling heavily onto his shoulders.

“About this mate thing?”

“You don’t need to worry about that now Jim”

“Yeah but…”

“Don’t worry about it” Leonard finally met Jim's eyes, his voice firm

“Alright” Jim acquiesced, he had too much to think about right now anyway

“Once the change begins I will have to chain you up, I have seen fledglings try to claw through their own chests to alleviate the weight…”

“That’s comforting”

“Yes…well”

Leonard was shifting, clearly uncomfortable and it was setting Jim on edge.  He needed one of them to be confident right now. “Is that it then?”

“I suppose it is”

“Let’s get this show on the road then, how do you want me?” Jim asked, slipping on his cocky mask but his heart was beating wildly, he felt as if it was going to jump out of his chest.

“It is probably best if you lay down”

“Right… okay” Jim swallowed heavily, laying down was still an effort, a fight against all his instincts.  Looking towards the door one last time he laid down on the bed and looked up at the roof until hazel eyes came into focus above him.  They appeared to be staring down at him curiously.

“I still haven’t forgiven you, you know? For trying to kill me”

“It hardly matters” Leonard scoffed, though his face showed concern and Jim smirked. 

“I think it does matter”

“What would you have me do Jim? Beg for forgiveness?”

“That doesn’t seem like something you would do Bones”

“Your right it’s not… that used to be my name you know?”

“What?”

“Bones, but in the latin, they called me Ossa”

“Well if you go around playing carve the bones it’s no wonder…  They?”

“My maker, my brothers and sisters”

“Where are they now?”

“Dead”

“All of them?”

“Yes”

“That sucks” Jim watched as Leonard shifted uncomfortably beside him before flopping over onto his side to lay beside Jim.

“Yes, it does” Leonard breathed out eventually

“Do you miss them?  I miss my brother” Jim’s eyes widened, not really sure why he was revealing this information about himself.  Perhaps he was avoiding the inevitable again, but it didn’t feel like it.

“I do, some of them.  You have a brother?”

“I did.  He died”

“I see” Leonard sighed, his hand coming up to run over his face “Did you have any other questions Jim”

Jim frowned, the question seemed genuine so he figured he may as well take the opportunity “Do you like being a vampire?”

“Not generally, no”

Jim frowned, that’s not the answer he was expecting “Oh… but you do sometimes?”

“When I’m killing”

Jim tensed, turning to look at Leonard, a million questions tumbling through his head but Leonard beat him to it.

“It is what I was made for Jim, to kill, to fight.  I have never really tried to enjoy anything else.  The others, they will tell you their least favorite thing is killing. So don’t fear, I will not be turning you into a mindless killing machine”

“There must be something else you enjoy” Jim asked, desperation tinting his voice, he wasn’t sure why it was so important to him that Leonard have something else in his life that he enjoyed.  He watched as Leonard frowned, a crinkle appearing between his brows as he thought.

“Medical science, it was an age ago but I was a healer once, the human body still fascinates me.  I read medical journals and keep up to date with the research… I have never told anybody else that” Leonard look somewhat distressed.

“Hey man, its medical journals, it’s not like you have a penchant for brutally murdering things now is it?” Jim grinned as Leonard barked out a laugh the tension easing from his shoulders.

“Your right… Jim, I’m not going to leave”

“What?” Jim asked, frowning at the tension in Leonard’s voice and the change in topic

“At times, you won’t be able to see or hear, I will be here”

Jim took a steadying breath, it was back to that then “Okay”

“Are you ready?”

“As I will ever be” Jim bit his lip as Leonard leaned the top of his body over him once more, resting his forearms on either side of his head.  He could feel himself blush at the intimacy of the position.  “I’ll see you on the other side Bones” he whispered quietly, his voice coming out more serious than he had meant.

Leonard just frowned, his eyes flashing gold but returning to hazel, Jim was grateful for the change.  The gold making him feel even more uneasy than he already was. As Leonard bent down and slotted his mouth against his neck Jim tried not the tense up, feeling Leonard’s breath caress his neck he closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The golden eyes I stole from Priest. Here I have related it to the 'old ones' so only older vampires have any kind of yellow in their eyes. Those directly descended from them have gold eyes, then the next couple of generations only flash yellow at times of high emotions, or while feeding. Vampires that are several generations removed from the old ones don't have this trait at all.
> 
> Thanks again for all of your kind comments, it really is over whelming!  
> 


	8. Metamorphosis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The vampires in my world have not 'lost their souls' They are just people who have been changed. Neither are they 'dead' they just function differently to humans due to their transformation that was triggered by the 'old ones' who in my mind are a type of demon. Again not necessarily evil just a different life form from somewhere other than here. Personalities are kept in tact when a human goes through a turn, they are still them just with extra strength, heightened senses and a primary diet of human blood. When vampires are first turned these changes are overwhelming in intensity and take time to get used to. Especially the craving for blood and any blood bonds they may have including that between, mates, sires and siblings. This is to do with the power of blood magic which is central to the vampires existence.  
> I hope that little intro into the workings of my head made sense.  
> Leonard acts differently in this chapter as he cant help but be sympathetic to Jim when he is in real distress. His instincts are telling him that he is family. 
> 
> WARNINGS LISTED IN AUTHOR NOTES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.

**Athens 490 BC**

_The young man had known nothing but pain for what felt like an eternity.  He had once been a healer, as such, he thought he had an understanding of suffering.  He was wrong.  For the first time in what felt like a life time though, his body wasn’t wracked with pain.  Taking a calming breath he tried not to panic at the feeling of sucking the air in, how it felt empty and useless now, but it no longer hurt.  Keeping his eyes closed he frowned, he could hear screaming, horrible blood curdling screams, but he was almost certain he had been removed from the basement, or as he had grown to call it, hell.  The reality of it was that the man didn’t want to open his eyes, he was terrified of what he would find when he opened them.  He thought he had died, he didn’t think it was possible to survive what he had felt the last few hours, days? Yet here he was.  To say he was disappointed was an understatement.  Life was suffering, he knew that now.  Hearing a bang reverberate through his ears, the man found himself across the room and pressed against the wall before he could even open his eyes, his chest heaving in unneeded breaths making him feel as if he couldn’t breathe at all.  When his eyes did snap open he couldn’t see, couldn’t think, everything was bright, loud, grating, it was too much.  Whimpering the man fell to the ground, his eyes snapping shut in an attempt to block out the harsh world.  He could sense a calm presence in the room, working towards it, he felt comforted as he smelt someone familiar.  Grunting, he was kicked back and the man curled in on himself, pain of rejection a new and startling torment to add to all the others.  Opening his mouth he tried to talk but all that came out was a dry rasp, it was at this point he realized how thirsty he was.  Grasping at his throat he coughed and wheezed, trying to swallow, in his panic he hadn’t noticed that the figure had come to stand over him.  He only opened his eyes at the sound of his voice.  The tones as comforting as they were terrifying to Leonard, confusion swirled in his gut and he longed for it to be over._

_“I don’t have time for fledgling theatrics.  Put this on and meet me downstairs.  Athens is being invaded, you are needed”_

_Leonard flinched away from the violent sound of leather and metal dropping down beside him, it took long moments but finally the man, shaking, reached for the garments._

_\--_

_The battle was long over, the man knelt by a dead Persian solder, carving into a died hunk of bone with a wearied determination.  As the other man approached and came to stand behind his shoulder, he looked to him, watched as the man looked out over the water.  His eyes an unnatural gold._

_“What do you have there son?” He refused to jump at the tone, the soft sounds startling in their volume.  He had grown used to the screams, shouts and horror of the battle._

_“A bone” the man spoke eventually, sarcasm heavy on his tongue.  He knew this man now to be Danti, a general, a monster, but he didn’t scare him.  Instinct demanded he be weary though, tread lightly so he returned to his bone, hesitant to look too long at the man._

_“You have done well, what is your name”_

_“Why does it matter?”_

_“Very well, I  think I will call you Ossa”_

_Ossa shifted uncomfortably, something lighting up in his chest as this man gave him a name, took ownership of him.  He didn’t welcome the feelings, they felt foreign as if it wasn’t his own. He said nothing to discourage the statement though._

_“Many of your brothers and sisters perished, yet you survive and you look relatively sane”_

_Ossa held up the bone he was carving, a look of disbelief marring his face.  Clearly this man wasn’t one to talk about sane if he thought a man carving into a bone in the middle of a bloody battlefield was sane._

_“I did say relatively” the man replied a smirk on his lips, despite himself Leonard found himself pleased with the praise this man was giving him and he stood, still clutching the bone at his hip and his dagger in the other._

_“We should talk” Bones growled, his frustration over the weeks of madness, death and war all while coming to terms that he was a monster finally rising to the surface.  It was after all, this man’s fault._

_“You assume I have the time” Danti tilted his head in a challenge._

_“You will make the time” Ossa snarled_

_This time Danti outright grinned, his eyes lighting up “Oh, I knew I liked you Ossa, come”_

_Following this man felt natural to Ossa and he allowed himself to be lead through the carnage.  Avoiding the curious and fearful glances of his fellow soldiers.  He wasn’t sure what he was walking into, but anything had to be better than the site and stench of the battlefield._

\--

**2060 AD**

Jim flinched readying himself for the pinch and fire of teeth slipping into his skin, it did come but it was gentler than before.  More of a scrape, shuddering Jim breathed as Leonard lapped at his neck soothingly before placing his lips at his skin, once again and sucking.  Jim immediately arched up under Leonard, it felt as if his neck was connected to all the nerves in his body, his stomach twisted in arousal and he groaned, restless, shifting.  Leonard rumbled and latched onto his head with one hand and his hip with the other in an attempt to keep him still.  Jim whined in the back of his throat, his arms coming up to grab and claw at Leonard’s shoulders.  But he was immovable, a pleased rumble vibrating in his chest as he leisurely sucked from Jim's neck.  Jim groaned, his eyes rolling, he had expected violence, a quick and sudden bite followed by his gushing blood.  However Jim felt as if Leonard had barely broken his skin and yet he must have, Jim could smell the blood, that thought alone made his head spin.  Jim sobbed as Leonard pressed himself closer and let out a frustrated whine before Jim shouted out in surprise as he felt Lenard’s fangs slice into his skin, Jim heart jumped as he realized his blood must have stopped flowing.  Leonard didn’t pull his fangs from his skin this time and Jim groaned when he shifted and it caused Leonard’s fangs to slice into him just a little further.  It was exquisite, he never wanted it to end.  Jim brought his hands up, his fingers going to Leonard’s hair, clutching it and him, encouraging him to stay.  It wasn’t long though before Leonard pulled away, licking the wound slowly.  Jim groaned trying to press him back but instead found himself lifted up off the bed and straddling a now kneeling Leonard.

“Oh”

“Yes” Leonard replied his forehead pressed to Jim’s

Jim shuddered, licking his lips, his eyes focused, if a little hazily on Leonard’s red stained lips “Kiss me?” Jim asked before mortification swept over him.  He didn’t mean to ask and he opened his mouth to say as much but was cut off by Leonard’s mouth, his lips rough, his tongue immediately seeking entrance.  Jim groaned and opened up, his own tongue chasing the remnants of his own blood.  It only served to light him up further and Jim shifted his hips, rutting into Leonard mindlessly, his hands going to his hair, trying to lead him back to his neck but Leonard resisted.  With a sharp growl from Leonard, Jim found his hands twisted behind his back in one of Leonard’s hands as his other went to the back of his neck, pressing their mouths more insistently together. 

After a breathless few minutes Jim finally managed to break away, his breaths coming in heaving gasps.  “Oh god, bite me, please.  Or fuck me just… just do something” Jim was mess, his lips swollen, blood slowly dripping down his neck and the front of his pants tenting. His thighs trembling as they laid over Leonard lap.  Leonard for his part seemed lazily aroused, his eyes drooping and his pupils blown, what little of the iris there was to be seen, flashing from gold to hazel spasmodically. Rumbling he leant forward running his nose along Jim’s teasingly. 

“I’m not putting off turning you any longer” he mumbled into his mouth, Jim shivered, groaning as Leonard pulled their groins flush together.  At the feel of Leonard’s hard length against his own Jim allowed his head to fall forward as his hips shifted, desperately looking for friction.

“Bones” Jim gasped, rolling his hips, licking and biting at his neck “please”

Leonard sighed, a sad noise reaching Jim’s ears.  Jim frowned but was distracted by Leonard running his hand through his hair before roughly pulling his head to the side “This is it Jim”

Jim gasped, biting his lip as Leonard pressed his forehead against Jim’s gently, after a moment, when Jim didn’t reply; other than to still his hips with a pained grunt.  Leonard bent down, licking a line from his collar bone to his neck, lapping up any spilt blood before returning to his neck.  Jim shuddered, the tension in the air suffocating.  Then Leonard was biting down, his teeth slipping deeper than before and Jim felt it this time, the burn, the tearing, he could feel his blood leave him, could hear his pulse thump in his head, knew that with every pulse it was flooding into Leonard’s mouth.  Gasping, Jim could do little more, he felt paralyzed, his body frozen, Leonard was groaning, shaking, pulling Jim closer, squeezing the breath from him as he pulled against his neck.  The obscene noise of Leonard swallowing filled his ears and a whine escaped his throat, choking of into a gasp as Leonard pulled harder.  Jim allowed his eyes to fall closed, his awareness of his body shrinking to the place on his neck where Leonard was drawing the life out of him.  It wasn’t long before his eyes fluttered open as he felt darkness closing in, but before he could attempt to work up any kind of protest Leonard was pulling away, licking at the bite, still drawing blood but slowly now, in small sucking kisses followed by the smooth lick of his tongue.  Jim tried to reach out, to hold Leonard, he felt cold.

“L…Leonard”

“Shhhh” Jim sighed as Leonard kissed along his jaw finally drawing away from his neck as shivers wracked his body.

“Cold”

“I know….”

“What…”

“Jim, look at me”

With a great effort Jim opened his eyes, trying to focus his eyes on Leonard but he seemed distant “Bones?” Jim watched as Bones frowned, his face a mask of concentration as he pressed a hand against his neck

“Hush Jim, I need to hear”

Jim felt anxiety curl in his stomach as he realized Leonard was listening to his pulse, struggling to keep his eyes open, he struggled as his chest started to feel tight, the world spinning.

“Good, Jim this is important.  Just a little longer, stay with me” Jim barely registered the sharp slap but managed to open his eyes at Leonard’s sharp words.  His eyelids felt so heavy.

“Open” confused Jim tried to focus his eyes, seeing Leonard’s wrist held in front of his mouth, letting his mouth fall open he allowed Leonard to bring his wrist to his mouth.  Groaning, Jim registered the metallic taste before warmth immediately spread through his body, sucking he swallowed greedily, after a moment his arms coming up to cling at his wrist.  But it was at that moment that Leonard pulled away, Jim whined but flopped back against Leonard, too weak to put up much resistance.  Leonard pulled Jim away gently, looking into his eyes carefully.

“There, is that a bit better?” Jim grunted and Leonard must have taken it as an affirmative as he smiled and brought Jim closer again, placing the humans mouth to his neck “Drink Jim” he whispered, his hands running through his hair.

Jim sniffed, smelling the blood before he tasted it, pressing his mouth over Leonard's neck he swiped his tongue out feeling a jagged slash in the vampire’s neck.  But that was pushed from his mind as the blood, richer than before, gushed over his tongue and suddenly nothing was more important that drawing as much as possible into himself.  One moment he was barely conscious and the next the world was brought into sharp relief, with a snap his arms came up and he clutched Leonard to him, a growl rumbling in his chest startling him, but not enough to pull away.  Leonard for his part was groaning, his hands pressing Jim to him, but beyond that he was pliant, allowing Jim to move his head so that he could get a better angle.  Jim lost himself, the world turning red, he could see a brightness behind his eyelids that he knew wasn’t there.  He couldn’t panic about it though, the only thing that mattered was the rich liquid spilling down his throat.  Jim lost himself to it completely, it could have been seconds, minutes or weeks it didn’t matter, pleasure and emotions that were not his own circling madly through his head and body.  When Leonard suddenly pulled Jim away, pushing him down onto the bed, the rage that filled him was like nothing he had experienced before and he snarled, cried out, clawed, did everything he could think of but it was all for nothing as within a moment Leonard had him pined.  Straddling his waist and his arms held over his head.  He was looking at Jim curiously but he seemed calm, it infuriated Jim, until suddenly it didn’t and Jim whimpered, desperation taking over and he begged

“Please”

“No, you have had enough”

“No”

“Yes”

Jim flopped back onto the bed, the red tinge to the world fading as the taste of blood slowly left his mouth.  But with the taste the sharpness of the world also faded and everything dulled, gradually growing dark.  Panic surged up and Jim gasped trying to reach for Leonard but he was held fast, pushed into the mattress.

“Bones” The panic must have been evident in his voice and Leonard dropped Jim’s arms and immediately cupped Jims face, bringing his forehead down to once again rest against Jims.  Jim sobbed as the vampire pressed a chaste kiss to his lips

“Let go Jim, this isn’t it, it’s okay.  You will just sleep for a while, let go”

Jim nodded as much as he could and let the darkness take him.

\--

_Jimmy’s hands shook as he grasped his teddy bear close to his chest, his mother stood in front of him her smile soft, tears in her eyes.  Jimmy frowned, hating the feel of the sitter’s hand resting heavily on his shoulder._

_“I’ll be back baby, look after your brother and the house, I’ll be home soon” Jimmy stood still, trying not to sob as she hugged him tight before moving on to talk to his brother.  He didn’t hear what she said, but he did hear her coughing, the bloody handkerchief in her hand that she tried to hide.  He didn’t understand, but he would do what she said._

_“I love you boys, remember that”_

_Jim didn’t understand, he clutched his Teddy to him tighter, shrugging off the cold grip of the sitter, he wanted his mother.  He was four._

_\--_

_Jim sobbed brokenly as his brother’s body slowly went cold in his arms “Sam? Sam!?”_

_“I… I didn’t mean…” The robber’s gun fell from his hand as he backed away slowly, his young face filled with horror_

_“Get out!” Jim screamed, his eyes blurring with angry tears, the robber ran._

_Jim pulled his brother to him, looking madly into his eyes, looking for any sign of life.  He was meant to look after him.  Screaming Jim shook him, begging, after a time when nothing happened Jim stopped crying.  Sniffing he placed Sam his brother, George Samuel Kirk on the ground, the bullet wound an angry hole in his chest.  Standing Jim slowly and deliberately walked towards the dropped gun and picked it up and walked towards the door.  Stepping out he looked out at the edges of the city, the chaos and wondered why they ever came here.  Pocketing the gun Jim stepped outside.  He was eight._

_\--_

_“Jim, Jim!” Jim opened his eyes with a gasp, immediately awake as a small hand shook his shoulder, looking over Jim saw her paleness highlighted by the moonlight filtering through the window and sat up his arms coming to rest at her shoulders._

_“What is it Cas?”_

_“It Kevin, hurry, please”_

_Jim was up and moving before she had finished talking, he pushed past the small girl, his naked feet slapping the decaying wood of the house as he raced through the halls and down an old stair case.  He knew where to go, where that bastard would have taken Kevin.  As it stood he was half way down the stairs when he heard the screams, cursing he broke into a sprint using his whole weight to knock in the door of the study._

_“The fuck?!” a man yelled, a belt hanging from his hands._

_Jim took in the scene, it was worse than it had ever been before.  The sick bastard had Kevin tied up to the wall, his shirt was off and thick, bleeding welts covered his back he was a shivering hysterical mess.  But what Jim’s eyes were drawn to were the open pants of the man, his intentions clear.  Jim’s eyes hardened and he stepped up to the man and swung._

_“Agh! James stop!!”_

_“Why the fuck should I?  I’m reporting you!”_

_To Jim’s shock the man laughed, clutching at his head_

_“You know they won’t believe you, some kid of the streets, what do they care anyway I keep the street rats out of their hair, that’s all they care about.  You call them I won’t just do this to Kevin.  You think your scars are bad boy? I barely did anything to you, too feral you are.  Closer to a dog than a god damn kid”_

_Jim shook with rage “Have you… have you done this before” Jim motioned to the man’s pants, bile rising in his throat._

_“Of course and I will keep doing it, I’m all you kids have, I saved you, it’s the least you can do”_

_Jim didn’t remember bringing the paper weight down on the man’s head or for the thirteenth time.  He didn’t remember anything at all before the police arrived, called by the maid.  Jim standing there in confusion covered in blood.  He remembered the screams of Cas, the sobs of Kevin and the police saying if he was lucky he wouldn’t get tried as an adult. He was sixteen._

_\--_

_Jim shook with laughter, clutching at his first officer relief flooding through his veins.  They had made it, against all the odds, against commands, but they had made it.  They had made it through, his small team of his closest officers, they had made it through enemy territory and taken out their command base.  No civilians harmed.  Jim estimated that they had saved at least one hundred innocent lives that the air strike, no doubt, would have taken._

_“Captain, we have to move” a voice came behind him and Jim nodded, his face falling serious once again_

_“Back to the ship guys” They had already exited the danger area but they weren’t back to the ship yet.  Jim checked his GPS and felt the elation light up his chest.  He never felt as good as he did after a successful mission.  No doubt the brass would give him hell but hey, once again he had the results to prove that he was right.  However it was during this thought that he heard a twig snap to his left and that was about when everything turned on its head_

_“Freeze” Jim didn’t, instead spinning knocking the gun out of the man’s hand and pushing him up against a tree, a gun pressed to his temple, before he could press the trigger though he felt another barrel press against the back of his head.  Dropping his hands and gun Jim grunted, pulling away.  His heart sank as he saw the circle of people surrounding his group of five men.  They were outnumbered and outgunned.  They all looked at him for instruction, there was still trust in their eyes and Jim wildly tried to think of a way out.  These men worked quickly though, within moments they had them lined up in a row guns pointed at their chests._

_“What do you want” Jim finally asked, gasping as he was kneed in his ribs for his effort. Jim glared at the man that appeared to be leading them, but he only grinned back._

_“The death of your crew, just as you killed mine” The guns were raised and Jim panicked, he hadn’t had time to think of a plan._

_“Wait, stop, take me, leave them out of it, they were just following orders”_

_“As were my men Captain” Jim saw the hardness in his eyes, there would be no negotiating and the guns were still raised, he turned to his crew, his most trusted men and women.  He looked at them all in the eyes, panic, failure and sickness washing through him._

_“I’m sorry” the shots rang out and Jim fell with his crew._

_Waking up in the hospital Jim sat in silence as he was informed of the deaths of his closest crewman, was told the bullet missed his heart, was told that he was discharged.  He sat in silence and stared at the wall, wishing that the bullet had of stayed on course.  He was 28._

_\--_

Jim gasped, his eyes snapping open, his arms coming of the bed but halted before they could reach his burning chest.  Shouting Jim arched up, desperate to shift the weight of his chest.  He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even draw a breath to shout again as fire licked at his limbs every muscle in his body pulled tight. When an extra weight landed on his hips Jim tried to flinch away but was unable to, screaming silently Jim, without breath Jim pulled on his restraints desperately, distantly he felt his skin giving way, bloody trickling down his wrist but he didn’t care.

“Jim! Stop, look at me”

Jim tried to focus, it was difficult but through the fog of pain he found himself looking into Hazel eyes, they seemed so familiar.

“Stop trying to breath, just… Just try to push your chest out” Jim’s head swam, his brain struggling to make sense of the words through the pain.

“Jim, here”

Jim felt a heavy hand rest on his chest and he would have screamed if he could, instead he just twisted, tugged on his restraints and tried to get away, air catching in his throat, a desperate wet sound.  Then the hand slowly moved away from his chest and Jim missed the contact, something made him chase it and suddenly his chest was lifting and a small amount of air entered his lungs, the pain spiked to a new level and he felt as if fire was entering his lungs but he didn’t care, the relief of air was better than anything and his head cleared if only for a moment.  His chest dutifully following the movements of the hand.  Leonard, Jim remembered abruptly, it was Leonard’s hand. Oh god, this was it.  Shuddering he tried to curl into himself, forgetting once again about the restraints.  A whimper worked its way out of his scorched lungs and Leonard made a pitying sound.

“This won’t help for long, I’m sorry Jim.  Remember that I’m here, just, try and let go Jim, please”

Jim felt a hand grip his own and he clasped it madly, desperate for any anchor as the weight on his chest grew and following Leonard’s hand proved harder and harder.  Shooting a wide look at Leonard Jim tried to convey his panic.  Leonard nodded, releasing his chest and moving to rest his forehead against Jims.  Jim gasped one last desperate small breathe, inhaling Leonard’s scent, a small comfort when next all he knew was pain, his body arched as much as it could in the restraints, his head snapped back, dislodging Leonard who moved to grip his other hand and then he lost all knowledge of anything occurring outside the realm of his body.  It wasn’t dark, it was bright, burning through his eyelids allowing him no rest, no blissful slip into unconsciousness just unrelenting pain.  Jim tried, he truly did to let go, but there was nothing to let go of, nothing to fight, just unrelenting pain and agony ripping through his body.  Jim forgot his own name, who he was, what he was.  Then as suddenly as it started it stopped and Jim collapsed onto the bed, he came back to himself to register a hand on his face and the fact that he was shaking uncontrollably before the white flash of pain faded and blessed darkness took him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for reference to rape and child abuse. The rape is referenced but does not occur. The aftermath of child abuse is described in this story but not the child abuse itself. Also there is a minor character death.
> 
> The aesthetic I am imagining for the cities is similar to the movie Dredd & Priest. Mega structures in the central city with smaller structures along the outer edge. There is a wall protecting the city with smaller outposts and deserted towns surrounding it. Humans control the city but the vampires protect it in order for them to receive feeding rights from the willing. There are several vampire covens within the city all vying for power but the main players are John Harrison's Coven, Pikes (now Leonard & Spocks) and Nero's. They all control separate parts of the city. Humans have no interest in controlling the in fighting or involving themselves in the vampires bid for power as long as they do their job and protect the city and avoid human casualties.  
> I realised today that I am drawing from Star trek, Priest, Dredd and now also Xena (armor). My Karl Urban obsession is showing.


	9. Dispnea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thanks here to Nikte who helped me make sense of this chapter and with writing one of the more challenging scenes. Also for just being there to listen to my ranting!  
> I have also been informed that I failed at my research. Don't look at it too closely ;) but Ossa's name shouldn't be ossa as Latin wasn't actually spoken in the area at the time of his birth. Ah well :p we learn from our mistakes!  
> I am constantly astounded by all the wonderful people within this fandom, thanks to everyone again for reading!  
> Please keep in mind that these boys are not only being driven by their emotions but also their instincts which are heightened at the moment, for the both of them.  
> This chapter has a focus on Jim but we will see more from Leonard's POV next chapter.

**Athens 470bc**

_“Please my lord, faster, Uhn”_

_Ossa ripped his teeth from the young woman that hovered above him as he shifted his hips into her slick heat. “I am no lord and I didn’t ask you to speak"_

_“I…” The woman thought better of speaking in the end, ducking her head to the side and offering up her throat again. Ossa grunted and shifted down in the seat for better leverage. It was with mild surprise and amusement that he witnessed the girl go flying a moment later, ripped from his lap._

_“Danti?”_

_Ossa’s amused smirk fell from his face as Danti sprawled next to Leonard, his eyes half crazed. “Ossa” he muttered again, his eyes haunted._

_Ossa frowned, shifting to right his clothes, covering himself in the process. “If you wanted my attention you only had to ask”_

_“Then I ask it”_

_“You have it”_

_Ossa grunted in surprise as Danti launched himself onto him.   Leonard never the less adjusted quickly as the man disrobed above him, ripping Ossa’s clothes from his body._

_“What are you do…?” Ossa started but decided he didn’t care about the whys when Danti grabbed his cock, still half hard from his earlier activities. Ossa had learned quickly to take physical pleasures where he could. It made his existence tolerable. They had never done anything like this though, the thought had honestly never crossed Ossa’s mind. It was strange in a way but if it was something his maker wanted from him he would gladly provide it._

_“Your neck”_

_Ossa hesitated but after a moment turned his neck to the side, gasping as Danti grasped both of their members in his hand, starting a fast and brutal rhythm as his teeth slid into his neck._

_Ossa groaned, it was painful but not overly unpleasant. He had not allowed anyone to feed on him since becoming a vampire.   As he started to draw on his blood it improved and Ossa relaxed into the sensation. Confused but pliant beneath the man on top of him. It wasn’t long before Danti pulled away and offered his own neck to Ossa who frowned, shaking his head, confusion warring with his increasing arousal, his hips shifted._

_“Drink”_

_Ossa had not been able to disobey a direct order from Danti for years now, it was too ingrained within his system for him to follow his orders. So he dipped his head and pierced his makers flesh. As the blood hit his tongue he knew true madness for the first time. He was naïve to think that what he experienced in this man’s dungeons or during his turn was anything close to madness. He could taste the sickness that ran through his veins, his desperation, fear and above all an all-consuming loneliness. Ossa tore himself away and met his makers blank stare, all movement has stopped and eventually with a heaving sigh Danti removed himself from Ossa and stood, his head down._

_“Get out”_

_Ossa didn’t hesitate to leave, shaken beyond belief._

_Later he would learn that Danti was suffering from a broken bond, only growing worse as the years progressed, unlike human grief a broken bond was a poison that would slowly worsen over time. The death of his mate haunted him. In his desperation he had tried to initiate a bonding with Ossa, the only companion he felt he could trust. Obviously this had failed miserably, Ossa was glad in the end, he had no wish to tie himself to someone if that was the result_   _._

_\--_

**2060 AD**

Leonard collapsed into the bed, weakened and shaking. He allowed himself a moment to rest before his instincts screamed at him to check Jim, to check that the room was safe. Scowling because of his urges,  he never the less allowed his instincts to lead him. Sitting up he checked over Jim, feeling for breathe where there was none and listening to his heart beat so very slowly. Frowning he tried to lay down, he needed to rest, he had not slept since picking Jim up at the bar. However as he finally let his body relax he felt a twinge of uneasiness, with a frustrated sigh he realized it was because he couldn’t see the door. Groaning he repositioned himself so that his ear rested over Jim’s heart, monitoring his condition and he faced towards the door, he knew no one would dare try to break in and yet he found he needed the reassurance. Allowing his eyes to slip closed Leonard tried not to think about how his instincts had been affecting him. He had given himself over to them tonight, he had no idea what he was doing, and changing humans was something he had never had a reason to do before. He had read the appropriate material of course and had witnessed a number of turnings, mostly though, they happened in private, like this. Behind locked or guarded doors. It was different than the theory and Leonard shuddered at the memory that was equal parts awe inspiring as it was terrifying. Shifting he allowed himself to fall into a fitful rest, the slow beats echoing in his head.

\--

Jim woke to the sensation of sparks flying over his arm, gasping the pleasure shifted to pain as his chest caught on fire. He was immediately pressed back on the bed a hand covering his nose and mouth, determined eyes boring into his own. Jim’s eyes widened as he really noticed the eyes, the hazel fascinating in its complexity, he would have taken another breathe if he could, at the sharp greens and browns mixing together in complex patterns but he could wasn’t able, not with Leonard’s hand obstructing his nose  and gradually he started to panic. Even if the sensible part of his brain registered that his brain wasn’t lacking oxygen.

“Don’t breathe yet Jim, if you can help it, just give yourself a moment… I, just, give yourself a moment”

Jim looked in awe as Leonard’s voice hit his ears, the voice hit him in pleasing layers, rolling over his ear drums. Jim grunted and Leonard glared, pressing harder on his mouth.

“No breathing Jim. Nod if you understand”

Jim nodded, feeling with pleasure Leonard’s hand fall away, brushing against his lips as it did so, in awe he looked around the room. Noticing all the details, surprised at how bright the room seemed, looking back at Leonard he found himself fascinated with every detail he could take in, he was sure his eyes must be bugging out of his head. He could see every strand of hair, every eyelash and imperfection marring his skin, he was beautiful. Closing his eyes against the overwhelming site Jim began to take stock of his body, confused at the lack of pain or aches, or anything really, his knee which was filled with shrapnel wasn’t even aching. Looking sharply back at Leonard he shot him a questioning eyebrow.

“Hello Jim”

Jim breathed in. failing to think once again, after all, after spending a life time breathing it was hard to just… stop. Immediately he curled into himself as pain returned to his chest, his lungs felt tight, breathing felt as if he were shattering them.

“Take it slow, start with shallow breaths if you can and slowly build up” Jim nodded feeling a hand fall onto his shoulder. Surprisingly it helped and slowly the pain fled and for the first time in years Jim wasn’t in any pain. It was shocking really, the closest he had come to this was on morphine in the hospital but here his head was completely clear. Shifting he waited for the inevitable ache or dull pain to start up somewhere but it never happened. It was disconcerting. He wasn’t sure he liked it, he felt quite…

“Jim”

“Yes?” Jim starting choking immediately the dry rasp of his throat pulling him from any thoughts of lack of pain.

“I need to get you some blood, I didn’t think to prepare before. I will need some as well”

“Blood”

“You’re are a vampire” Leonard raised a tired eyebrow

“I don’t… I’m not hungry” Jim winced, his throat felt like knives were grating in it.

“Just… shut up, I’ll be back”

“Don’t” Jim reached out and grabbed hold of Leonard’s arm, twisting his hands in the fabric.

Leonard let out a tired sigh, rolling to the side of the bed and reaching towards the ground. Rubbing his hands over his face he glared at Jim before punching in a number and placing the phone at his ear.

“Blood” Leonard muttered and Jim was surprised to learn he could hear the other side of the conversation, could even hear the sigh in response.

“I really do wish you would use sentences Leonard” Jim recognized the voice of Spock on the line.

“And I wish I had a pony,  bring me blood” Leonard hung up the phone, his thumbing jabbing at the red button repeatedly, Jim smiled.

“Oh don’t start that shit, I’m not your entertainment kid”

Jim chose not to reply, his throat too broken.

Jim sat silently, unable to order his thoughts as distraction lay everywhere, the room, its colors, its sounds, just dust floating from a venting system that Jim hadn’t realized was there before was enough to draw his attention. But most of all Leonard, watching the limited light in the room shift over his skin, the colour of his hair, his eyes, when he moved it only got better. Jim watched as the man padded to the door, the muscles playing under his skin, he knew, could anticipate where and how he would move before he did it, his muscles giving him away at every turn. He was about to call out, asking him where he was going when he realized he could sense a presence outside the door, a distant familiarity in it. It was faint but it was there. But then Leonard opened the door and the world fell away. He pounced, was across the room before he could blink but encountered a hand on the back of his neck that pushed him to the ground before he could reach the scent.

“Shit, I forgot I untied him”

“You must be tired, be grateful he hasn’t fed yet. Here I will take care of this while you set Jim up” Jim snarled at the woman, gnashing  his teeth. She was keeping it from him. “Why hello Jim, I’m Nyota” Jim tried to lunge at her but felt the firm pressure on the back of his neck switch to the front and he was unceremoniously lifted up and thrown onto the bed. Before he could think of jumping up he was tied down, his arms ripping against the bonds, the chinks lifting of the bed as he stretched towards the scent. A sweet all-consuming scent, he felt as if it was lining his throat already. Jim knew, knew with a certainty he had never felt before that he needed it, that it was the only thing that would keep him alive.

“Here I brought the syringe, might be best to feed it to him that way, until he can tear into the bags without making a mess” the woman was talking again, it infuriated Jim 

“He’s quite a site, strong by the looks of it. It will be interesting to see him once he’s fed”

“Keep your training ideas to yourself. I have the blood, you can leave now”

“Like hell, I finally get to see the wonder boy I’m not leaving yet”

“Leave Nyota”

Jim paused in his struggling as he heard Leonard growl, a possessive sound that echoed in his chest. Jim was almost positive that it was a sound he wouldn’t have been able to pick up with his human ears. It cut through his madness, causing him to shiver. “Bones, please”

“Hang on” To Jim’s relief he moved towards the duffle Nyota had brought down, taking it from the woman

“It’s true then, what Spock said”

“Fuck off, Nyota. I won’t ask again”

Jim was glad to hear the slamming of the door as she swirled around her perfect pony tail swishing behind her.

“Fucking busy bodies, like Spock couldn’t have brought this himself. Gossips, the lot of them”

“Bones” It was the only word he could manage or remember. All he could think of was the scent, with hints of _Bones_ and _Leonard_ , flashing through his brain.

“You are oddly coherent” Leonard mutters “By rights you should be trying to rip my throat out”

Jim winced at the words, but strained closer, his nose scenting the air.

“Please” Jim watched as Leonard shifted things around in the duffle  before frowning and muttering to himself

“Feed you with a syringe, that would take hours”

“Bones”

“Shut up Jim” Jim groaned his frustrations and yanked on the chains holding him to the bed, closing his eyes Jim focused purely on the scent. Even with his eyes closed he could pin point exactly where it was, he could also tell it was warm and some part of him knew there was something wrong with it. But it was irrelevant. He heard cupboards opening and closing, Bones muttering and throwing things around. The noises vibrated through his ears, distracting and disturbingly loud and clear in the small room. Finally he heard Leonard make a noise of success and Jim opened his eyes to see him holding a cup.

“We don’t have much use for these” Leonard grumbled staring at the cup as if it was the bane of his existence.

Jim said nothing, just watched with fascination as Leonard took the cup back to the duffle and removed what appeared to be blood donation bags  from the duffle. Shooting a look to Jim Leonard bit of a corner off one of the bags and poured it into the cup. “Nyota heated the bags up. It’s not perfect but it will have to do for now, until you can control yourself”

Jim could feel a growl rumble up from deep inside his chest and it startled him. Glancing at Leonard, not sure what he was looking for, he felt his slight panic subside as he saw the vampire smirk at him. Then the vampire was bringing the cup towards Jim and he froze, madly scenting the air. When the cup reached his lips Jim tried to surge forward but he was already as close as he could get. When Leonard tipped back the cup Jim moaned, swallowing madly, the liquid not coming fast enough. Closing his eyes Jim vibrated in the chains, the need to be closer to the maddening scent was all consuming, his teeth clashed uncomfortably against the ceramic of the mug and he snarled violently when it was pulled away but it was brought back almost immediately and he continued to swallow it down. Eventually as the cup kept returning Jim was able to consider the blood that he was drinking beyond just concentrating on consuming as much as possible. He registered that it still had that metallic tang behind it but the primary flavor, if he could call it a flavor, since it was more like a feeling, that of pure energy. It tasted of power, of life, it was the most incredible thing Jim had ever tasted and he couldn’t get enough. Before long though the bags ran dry and Jim discovered that he didn’t mind, he felt strangely full and satiated, relaxed.

Flopping down onto the bed he groaned in contentment, allowing the sensations of the room to wash over him. They no longer felt so harsh and overwhelming.

“Better?” Leonard’s voice cut through his musings

“Better” Jim agreed a smile gracing his face

“Good”

“Unchain me?” Jim asked, although not really expecting the vampire to agree. So it was with shock that Jim felt his chains slowly drawn of his limbs. Leonard was watching him curiously.

“How do you feel?”

Jim didn’t answer at first, instead looked Leonard over and watched his muscles twitch, move. He then looked at the door. Frowning he realized he had an urge to be outside, to smell the open air. However he felt tied here, even now that his chains had been removed. He was drawn to Leonard. Sitting up slowly he hoped of the bed, watching as Leonard stepped back with something like amusement lighting up his eyes. “I feel, different”

Leonard rolled his eyes, placing his hands behind his back “Well that is to be expected, obviously”

“I… I feel drawn to do a lot of things. I think if I didn’t have so many conflicting urges it would be hard to resist”

“What is it that you want to do?” Jim noticed Leonard’s shoulders move back, defensive

“Run, move, get outside” Jim paused, considering, flexing his limbs, marveling at how fluid everything seemed “Feed, but that has been pushed back now” Jim stepped closer to Leonard “But at the same time I don’t want to move, run, leave I want to stick closer to you” Jim watched as Leonard huffed, turning away

“It figures you would be needy, if you are feeling more…. balanced we should probably introduce you to the others.”

Jim nodded, distracted

“The sooner I do that, the sooner we can get you trained, sort out this rubbish”

“Right” Jim rolled his eyes at the vampires assumption that he would be able to fix all of the covens problems “I almost forgot I was meant to be your savior”

“Hardly Jim, just a figure head and hopefully some fresh eyes. We are missing something with… Spock will explain it. Anyway the sooner we get that sorted the sooner I can leave this cursed coven for a few years. A decade at least”

“What?”

“What?” Leonard sounded distracted, he had moved to the bed and was removing the blood stained sheets efficiently

“You’re going to leave”

“Course, I doubt you will want to see me around and quite frankly I am sick of the drama, I need a break”

“Right” Jim struggled but still stumbled back a step. The words felt like a physical blow. Confusion laced together with the startling pain, he didn’t know why he felt like this. He wasn’t close to Leonard, the man had practically kidnapped him. But he had been held captive for far longer than this before and had never displayed any tendencies towards Stockholm syndrome. Still he was reeling from the words and had to resist walking right up to Leonard and clinging to him out of desperation as it was he couldn’t help but shuffle closer to the vampire. He tried to shake the feeling off but it was clouding around him, the knowledge that Leonard would eventually leave him. Clenching his fists he used everything he had to push aside the tormented feelings and tried to right himself. He needed out of the room though, it suddenly felt stifling.

“So… upstairs?” Jim hoped Leonard wouldn’t n otice the catch in his voice.

“Wait” Leonard was still facing away from him and it unsettled Jim, he had to resist the urge to spin the vampire towards him. He watched as he picked up his phone.

“Spock”

“Has he entered a feral state” Jim could hear Spock’s tones through the phone, he couldn’t miss that robotic voice.

“No” Leonard huffed

“Is it due to the bond do you think?”

“How would I know?!”

“Perhaps you could talk to him about it. Ask him about his emotional state”

“Isn’t that what Pavel is for?”

“It is not Pavel’s job to establish the mental health of our fledglings”

“Well he isn’t good for much else”

“That was unnecessarily cruel, Pavel has many uses”

“Yes Spock, It’s like you don’t know me”

“Perhaps I will judge for myself, if you are still unwilling to accept this turn of events”

I don’t care what you do”

Jim walked slowly around the room, fascinated with the play of his muscles under his own skin but still managing to pay attention to the confusing conversation. He watched as Leonard grabbed a chunk of his own hair and pulled, his feet shifting.

“For fucks sake Spock just… get down here”

“Will he not attack the humans under our care?”

“No! He won’t”

“Fascinating, you sound certain, is that due to the bond?”

“It is due to me saying so”

“It is due to the bond, you should accept it Leonard” Spock insisted

“I don’t care what you want to call it, it is what is it and it’s an advantage to us right now so get your ass down here and help”

“Fac…”

“God help me if you say fascinating one more time I am going to come up there and…”

Leonard was cut off as there was a knock at the door, he stormed over and fiddled with the locks before ripping the door open

“Rip your head from your shoulders” Leonard spat at Spock’s face

“It is good to see you as well Leonard, I was concerned”

“Shove it up your ass” Leonard hissed, turning back towards Jim

“You seem more unstable than usual Leonard, I wonder why that might be”

“You smart assed little” Leonard took a step back towards Spock.

Jim could feel a rage building in his chest that he was sure wasn’t his. It was terrifying in its intensity “Bones?” Jim watched as Leonard immediately swung towards him, a concerned frown on his face at the tone of his voice. He also noticed Spock smirk.

“I feel like I am missing out on a valuable part of this conversation” Jim muttered, trying not to sniff the air as the scent of another individual assaulted his nostrils. It took a moment for Jim to realize that the room he was in actually smelt like Bones. Spock had a different scent all together, neither of the scents he had the words to describe.

“It appears you are correct, he does seem oddly coherent” Spock muttered as he eyed Jim critically.

“He, is right here” Jim spoke the vibrations of a growl starting up under his chest, startling him.

“Of course Jim, once again my apologies, how are you feeling” Spock  asked stepping around Leonard, who started to growl. Jim felt something shift and he stepped away from Spock, trying to find a way to make it to Leonard but not wanting to step past the taller vampire.

Spock smiled and took a step back behind Leonard and immediately Jim felt himself relax. “Fascinating” he murmured a smirk on his face.

“Just… just shut up Spock” Leonard sighed, avoiding Jim’s curious eyes

“I, I feel strange” Jim finally said, taking a step towards Leonard and watching as he flinched. Curious.

“No doubt, an abrupt, violent and major change to your biology with a new mated bond on top of that. It must be quite the challenge”

Jim said nothing, clearly Spock was trying to get a rise out of Leonard, he may have thought his body language was subtle but it was anything but. He settled for a glare.

“If we are going to do this, let’s just do it” Leonard spoke, walking towards the door. Clearly done with the conversation. Jim found himself following in his footsteps without conscious thought. His body automatically taking a wide berth around Spock.


	10. Tabula Rasa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to Nikte who betad this chapter for me. However all remaining mistakes are my own, I continued to fiddle with the chapter once I received it back. Have I mentioned that I don't own any of these people? Because I don't, just so you know ;) No warnings for this chapter.

Jim had followed Leonard up the stairs, there were eyes staring at him and he was startled to realize he could tell which ones were human.  His desire to move towards them, smell them, scared him and as a result he felt himself press closer to Leonard as they walked.  He heard an annoyed huff from Leonard but he couldn’t help it.  The rooms were massive, the high ceilings displaying disturbing murals that Jim tried not to dwell on.  Eventually they came to a set of large wooden doors and Jim followed Leonard inside, close on his heels.

\--

Leonard was a wreck, he was exhausted, hungry and agitated.  The strength it was taking to block his side of the bond was draining, he had already slipped once or twice but he couldn’t help it since Jim’s emotions were flowing over him with no restraint.  He would need to teach him to control himself, but that would involve a conversation he really didn’t want to have or think about just yet.  He knew the bond had not yet been finalized, he could feel it thrumming beneath the surface, stronger now that Jim was a vampire.  But he was determined to ignore it, he would find a way to break it, he just needed to research, If only he had the time.

With a sigh he looked up at the room and saw the expectant eyes of Nyota, Hikaru, Pavel, Scotty and Gaila.  He frowned but none the less stepped to the side to present Jim, Jim immediately stepped closer to Leonard, causing him to heave out a frustrated breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.  Bones could feel Spock’s smirk and it only made his frustration rise, despite that he looked up at the curious eyes and said what he needed to say.

“I present Jim Kirk, my kin and I request he be allowed entrance to the coven” Leonard grumped out, it was ridiculously old fashioned.  But that was the problem with being immortal, progress was slow.

It was Spock who stepped around, once more in front of Jim, “I am Spock, on behalf of everyone here I welcome you to the coven”

“Err” Jim sounded hesitant and Leonard struggled not to bite out his frustrations.

“Say thank you Jim”

“Thanks”

“I guess that will have to do, Jim go introduce yourself… I need, to step out for a moment”

“Where…?”

“I won’t be long” Leonard ignored Jim’s wide eyes with difficulty and moved outside the doors slamming them in his wake.

Immediately he moved to one of the lounges looking for something, someone.  He scanned over the crowd and he ignored the lesser members of the coven, focusing instead on the humans spread around the room.  Some swaying to the music other draped over various young vampires.  His eyes moved over the women but something in him baulked at their form and he found his sight lingering over the men in the room.  He spotted a young man leaning against the door, who lifted his eyes demurely at him. Leonard figured he would do, so motioning to him, he walked to one of the private offices, not caring whose it was.  Once the man had stepped inside, Leonard slammed him against the door. He used more force than he had meant to, but the man didn’t seem to care, he only moaned and exposed his neck.  Leonard held off for only a moment before sinking his teeth in, drawing greedily, pressing himself gratefully close to the warm body.

\--

Jim was okay, for the moment. He felt reasonably safe in the room, most of the people in the room felt faintly welcoming and non-threatening, Spock more so than the others, and despite his weariness of the vampire, his instincts were telling him the opposite.  It made his head spin.  Eventually he turned to face the others, trying to work out what to say in this situation, he looked at their faces one by one, trying to work out what to say. 

One of them stepped forward her red hair circling her head in electric waves, framing her angular face. “Hello Jim, I’m Gaila” Jim liked her immediately, he smiled and started to say something when unexpected pleasure and desperation curled in his gut, with such a sudden and devastating impact that Jim’s knees gave out and he groaned.

“Shit, Leonard went to feed didn’t he?”

“What an idiot”

“He needs to eat as well Nyota”

“Why isn’t he blocking the bond?” Jim couldn’t work out who was saying what, could only gasp and groan.  Barely following the conversation.

Jim groaned the voices agitating and distracting, he felt the need to move but he had no idea in which direction.

“I believe he has been blocking the bond this entire time, if that is true he must be drained and therefore unable to block the bond during a time of … distraction, such as when he feeds”

“Of all the irresponsible… what is he doing, like what’s the end game here?”

“I believe he is trying to reject the mating bond”

“That’s impossible, downright dangerous if he is his maker as well”

“Perhaps you should endeavor to explain the situation to him, he seems unlikely to listen to me”

Jim was up, hunched over, he moved towards the door but felt firm arms grab his shoulder. 

“You can’t Jim” Gaila’s voice washed over him and Jim folded into her, ignoring her gasp of shock, he nuzzled at her neck but turned away she wasn’t right.  He needed warm blood or Leonard, or both.

“Bones” Jim muttered, trying to pull away to the door again.

“What?” Gaila asked confused, stroking her hand along his face, oddly he didn’t mind the contact and felt himself leaning into it.

“He seems to have christened Leonard with the name” Gaila paused at Spock’s words, her eyes wide as realization seemed to dawn on her

“Oh… sweetheart, perhaps you shouldn’t call him that hmm?” Jim looked at her and frowned, he would call him what he wanted, pulling away he walked to the door with determination, this time stopped by Spock’s solid presence. 

“You cannot go out there Jim, Leonard will be back shortly” Jim shrunk back for a moment, before standing straight, holding his ground.  Something inside of him telling him he could take down the creature standing in front of him.  Straightening his shoulders he met Spock’s eyes

“Gaila sweetheart, do you want to try and break that up, looks like they are ready to get the rulers out” Jim heard a Scottish accent drift behind him but it was irrelevant at the moment, he took a step forward towards the door. 

“Are you kidding? No…”

“Well does someone want to grab Jim?”

“No thank you, he’s one of Leonard’s.  I choose life”

Jim wasn’t sure who spoke that time, but he refused to look away from Spock’s eyes, he was smirking.  Jim pounced. Jim had a second to marvel at the speed at which his muscles reacted before he felt a punch to his chest that sent him sailing backwards.  He landed with a resounding crack on top of the table that everyone appeared to be sitting around.  Jim smirked amongst the ruins and winked at Gaila before jumping back up.  He was vibrating softly from the force of the kick but he felt unhurt.  Approaching Spock more carefully this time, he circled him, sizing him up.  Spock didn´t give away much in his stillness, but Jim saw beneath that, it was his eyes that gave him away and as the elder vampire struck out, Jim was ready, dodging away before planting a punch across his face. The satisfying feeling of bone crunching didn’t occur, but it was still entertaining to see Spock stagger to the side, his smirk finally dropping to a blank expression, but Jim could see the emotion in his eyes, this time it was Jim who smirked.

\---

Leonard pulled away from the man beneath him, ignoring his desperate whimpers, he held him firmly against the wall.  He could feel Jim’s emotions peak in anger and then… something else.  Licking the blood from his lips he walked to the door and opened it, just in time to see Spock and Jim flying through the heavy wooden doors, doors that had lasted two centuries splintering in their wake.  Leonard smiled, watching as they tousled on the ground before righting themselves, circling each other snarling.  Leonard could see the frustration on Spock’s face, Leonard imagined it was due to the fact that a fledgling was giving him trouble, but Jim, Jim was grinning from ear to ear, his chest rising and falling rapidly where Spock’s was still.  He was clearly having the time of his life. 

Leonard watched as the others ran out the door after them, Nyota being particularly vocal over the situation.  Leonard rolled his eyes and held up his hand, halting their progress.  All of them backed off reluctantly and Leonard smiled, leaning against the door to watch the proceedings.  As the two came back together it was easy to see that Spock had the upper hand, he was faster, more experienced and at the moment stronger, but that was a close call.  It was obvious Jim hadn’t yet realized how fast he could truly be and he wasn’t used to his body’s reactions, his surprise showed on his face.  Leonard watched as Spock gradually beat Jim to a pulp, Jim kept coming back though and landed several decent hits.  Leonard was impressed, he didn’t see the point in ending it until Spock had Jim pinned by the neck against the wall, snarling at him when he refused to drop his eyes in submission.  Leonard loved it, with a smile he finally stepped up to the two of them.

“Spock, drop him”

Spock didn’t argue but he did take a long time to drop Jim, his hands twitching around his throat. When he finally let his go, he left in a rush, disappearing behind another door.  Leonard watched him go while Nyota chased after him, he would have to clean that mess up later, no doubt.  But for now he turned his attention to Jim, who was struggling up from the floor gasping for breath he didn’t need while poking at his throat gingerly.   Shooting the young vampire a look he was entirely too pleased when Jim sidled up to Leonard, his eyed downcast if only for a moment, coming to stand by his shoulder.  Looking away from Jim deciding he could ponder his interesting behavior later, he took in the room, what people were left inside, were huddled in the corner, cowering in fear while the vampires seemed startled but more curios than anything.

“You can all calm down” the Scottish accent started up again “T’was just the newbie testing out his fangs”

Leonard smirked, it had been years since he had seen Spock have any kind of difficulty in a fight.  It was beyond satisfying.  He could feel his frustration with Jim ebb by degrees, he could also feel Jim’s confusion with his injuries and his exhaustion seeping through the bond though, so making a decision he took Jim back downstairs.

\--

Jim started to shake once he made it back to Leonard’s room.  He waited for Leonard to shut and lock the door, not so he would know he was safe but rather so that he would know that Leonard couldn’t escape in a hurry.  With that out of the way he worked his way over to the bed and collapsed, curling his legs up.

“You shouldn’t have exerted yourself like that, your first time out” He heard Leonard scolding but ignored it.  Concentrating on the aches and pains of his body.  It felt different, he could tell exactly what had been done to him, where his skin was cut, where bruises were forming, spreading.  He couldn’t work out if that made them worse or not.

“You will heal but it will take longer than an older vampire, how bad are your cuts?”

Jim considered his words, he could feel his own blood welling to the surface as well as each jagged edge of flesh.  It was painful, but more disconcerting than anything else.

“Fine”

Leonard seemed to be considering something before he shrugged and moved to the couch “You need to rest, we both do, once I know you are better at controlling yourself I will get you set up in your own room”

Jim frowned, but nodded and watched as Leonard turned away from him and into the couch.  He had a lot to consider, mating bonds, bonds between makers and fledglings.  He could admit that it was strange to realize that someone had that influence over him, but knowing what it was and why it was happening made it easier.

He could tell when his instincts were driving him, it wasn’t foreign to him even as a human.  He had always been one to follow his instincts, often that got him into trouble but it was worth the risk, considering the amount of times it had saved him from a bad situation.  With his instincts heightened, Jim wondered about the potential. 

Laying on the bed Jim closed his eyes and really took stock of his body.  The first thing he noticed was a strong sense of Leonard, if he concentrated he could pull it apart.  He felt safe with Leonard there, protected.  He felt loyalty towards him.  Pushing away from that, he tried to work out how he felt about the vampire beyond what his instincts were telling him, to his surprise he found that he did like him, he was fascinated by him to a degree.  He also felt a low level hum that turned more urgent the more he concentrated on it.  Shying away from that he moved on to his own body.  He knew he desired more blood, but he knew it wasn’t urgent right now, he also felt restless like he needed to move, the fight between himself and Spock still pumping adrenaline through his veins, if he even had adrenaline anymore.  His lack of knowledge once again disturbed him.

He could taste the moisture in the air and he knew it was almost morning, with that realization he felt fatigue wash over him.  It was all very new and interesting and Jim felt an overwhelming urge to know more.  Turning towards Leonard he watched the vampire shift, he could tell he had not yet fallen asleep, assuming vampires slept.  He would wait and watch, allowing himself to rest. He had a terrible plan, smiling he knew it would probably get him into trouble, but hell.  If these vampires wanted a meek little soldier they should have picked someone else.

It took hours, Jim figured it was around ten by the time Leonard stilled completely.  It was actually quite alarming to watch, small movements, the occasional breath, twitching, all of it, it had just stopped and he looked surprisingly dead.  With a shudder Jim sat up carefully, he had no idea if this was going to work, he didn’t imagine that sneaking up on an old as shit vampire was going to go well but he was working on the idea that Leonard would recognize his presence as a safe one.  Jim could see the keys sticking out of Bones’ back pocket, stupid of him, but Jim imagined he was more concerned with keeping people out than keeping people in.  Slowly he withdrew the keys, with a smile he realized there were several keys on the chain, hopefully he wouldn’t need to devise a lock pick.  Creeping to the door Jim worked the locks open agonizingly slow, before going to the combination locks.  He had these combinations memorized long before he was turned and it was a simple task to open those.  Smoothly slipping out the door Jim closed it behind him. As he went to lock the door he paused and instead just turned the combination locks, knowing that Leonard would be able to open them.  The thought of locking Leonard in his own room just felt like too much of a betrayal. 

As he snuck through the house he noticed how eerily quiet it was, but he could sense other vampires and could smell humans.  The smell had his head reeling and it made him pause, sniffing the air he closed his eyes and looked for the smell that he was familiar with, blood with that slight hint of wrongness.  It didn’t take long and Jim found that his legs had led him to a rather large ornate kitchen.  Going to the fridge he saw the donor bags and he grabbed three, his hands shaking as he lifted them up.

 The next few moments were a blur to Jim, he remembered thinking about getting a glass but then his hand had squeezed one of the bags too hard and it had torn, the blood falling down his wrist.  Now, he stood in the kitchen, his clothes and face stained with blood and his body vibrating.  He felt amazing and once again sated.  Jim threw the now empty bags on the floor, not bothering to clean anything up, his head felt clear and he needed to move.  Walking into the now empty meeting room, he took in the damage of the door with a smirk, he had a feeling that what he was looking for would be off this room and so he started searching.

There were several heavy wooden doors but the one he was lead to, the smell of Leonard and Spock mixed together was stronger than the others and Jim had to investigate.  Searching through the keys Jim eventually found the right one and opened the double doors.  He couldn’t restrain a small gasp at what he found, it was a huge office, books stacked to the roof and a large desk and table taking up most of the floor space.  There were maps and more importantly, a computer, but Jim was drawn first to the books sitting on the desk, they looked old but thankfully most were in English.  The titles were descriptions of mating bonds, Jim picked up one of them and flopped himself into the closest chair.  Flicking it open he realized with a start that he could read an entire page in little more than a glance, his eyes widened and he sat forward, the potential was endless.  Jim began to read.

It wasn’t long before he had exhausted all the English books in the study and he left, distracted from his original task.  Instead he was now following the musty scent of books, frustratingly though, he could feel his eyes drooping as the day progressed and he was in a constant fight against his body´s urges but he could do this.  Finding two more large doors, he worked them open, these were not locked and behind them was a library.  Jim grinned and immediately started to search for any books regarding vampires.  It was going to be a long day but he was used to being on top of everything, this would be no different.  He was James. T. Kirk for crying out loud.

It was fading into the evening and Jim could sense others begin to wake, he himself was starting to shake of his fatigue and he found himself flicking through books even faster.  His brain which had always absorbed any and all knowledge greedily was taking on all the information at lightning speed now and he was blown away by the information.  There was so much more here than he ever imagined, a whole other world.  Sliding the last book away he resolved to find a book on languages at some point but for now he had read all he could, which was more than enough really.

Frowning he worked his way back to the study and broke open a locked filing cabinet, just by brute force, he spared a moment to wonder if lack of patience was a vampire thing.  He then removed all the files and started to read, it didn’t take long for the concern to start creeping in.  After only half an hour he pasted the map of the area up on the wall, hacked into the computer and began to update the territory lines.  Reading through the reports it was obvious that they were constantly moving and updating.  But there was something there, something wasn’t right.  Flopping down on the seat Jim ignored the sudden chaos that was occurring outside, the sounds grating on his ears, and he started to read through the files again, occasionally glancing up at the map or typing something into the computer.  When the door to the office was broken down Jim gazed up lazily, coming face to face with Leonard’s gold eyes.

“Honestly Bones, at this rate this house isn’t going to have any doors left”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for following along with this story, it really does mean the world x


	11. Undertow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Nikte once again for being an amazing beta :)  
> No warnings
> 
> I usually ramble here but I am so tired. I am not sure when the next chapter will be out, I am currently sick (nothing serious dont worry, but it is affecting my sleep)  
> I also plan to put out another chapter of BTMOTZs before I return to this. Still I hope not to leave the next chapter too long. Thank you all for reading x
> 
> I don't own them.

“Jim, what are you doing” the words were delivered slowly and with a calm that belied Leonard’s feral posture and rumpled appearance.

“Research” Jim muttered, slowly licking a finger and deliberately turning a page, glancing down at it.

“Research, of course you are and just what might you be researching?”

Jim ignored the rage that was morphing Leonard’s face into something ugly but disregarded the uneasiness in his gut.  He was confident now, he knew when he could and couldn’t trust his instincts.

“Oh you know… vampires in general, bonds… mating bonds” Jim couldn’t help but smirk at the panicked expression on Leonard’s face. “In fact I read the entire library, at least what was in English and related to vampires.  Clearly I need to brush up on my Latin and other languages I couldn’t even recognize.”

“W… what? The whole library?”

“Mmmmhmmm, not to mention all the paper work in here and all the documents on your computer.  It was crazy easy to hack into, by the way… I guess you guys haven’t kept up with technology”

“Hey!” a small voice piped up from the back and Jim leant over in order to look around Leonard, where a small vampire stood, he had wavy hair and a pair of soft eyes that were currently narrowed in anger.

“I protected all the important files, I can assure you they are impenetrable” Jim smiled a little, couldn’t help but find his strong Russian accent adorable. 

“let’s see were those the ones named after birds?  Falcon five and Sparrow eight?” Jim watched as the kid nodded, his shoulders, “Yeah they gave me some trouble, but sorry kid, it still didn’t take long”

“I am not kid, I am almost a century old”

“Oh I know, I know all about you Pavel” Jim grinned “It was in your file, I have to admit your good.  The only thing is…  I’m better” Jim barked out a laugh as a dark haired man held the Russian back. Jim concluded that it must be Hikaru, weapons and martial arts expert, head of the coven’s security. Jim needed to talk to him, he was willing to bet Hikaru had untapped potential when it came to developing attacking strategies, Jim wasn’t sure why he had been used primarily for defense until now.

“Hikaru is it?” Jim directed at the smaller vampire “When you have some free time I was hoping we might get a chance to talk?”

Jim was surprised when the vampire grinned at him, his eyes lighting up.  “Yeah sure, just let me know”

“Jim!”

“James”

The voices of Spock and Leonard blurred together as they both stepped forward.  Leonard bursting with anger and Spock looking confused and rather put out. 

“Jim this is our office, you’re not meant to be in here” Leonard spoke, resting his hands on the desk trying to grab his attention.

“mmmhmmm, yeah I know.   Hey, I want to meet Nero.  You can arrange that right?” Jim refused to meet his eyes, he could feel Leonard’s frustrations snapping through his tightly controlled shields.  Jim could feel them now, now that he knew what to look for and what’s more he was sure if he wanted, he could break them down.

“Jim, you can’t just come in here and…”

Jim cut Leonard’s words off “This is a mess, you realize that right? You brought me here to help, so I’m trying to help”

“Jim it isn’t your place” Leonard’s voice was near a snarl now, Jim frowned, slamming the file he had on the desk.

“Look I don’t know what this Pike guy was playing at this last few months but the files are a mess, nothing has been adjusted, any new information or reports were left unfiled.  The territories have moved but I’m willing to bet they have moved even more… there is a pattern..” Jim jumped as the desk was thrown across the room and Jim was left exposed with a snarling Spock standing in front of him

“You know nothing of which you speak.  Do not presume to talk of Pike as if you knew him”

“You don’t usually snap do you? I bet you hate it that I’ve made you lose control twice?  Hmm?”  Jim ducked Spock’s hands as they went for his throat and smirked as he quickly moved to the other side of the room holding his hands up in surrender “Look buddy, I’m not trying to start something all I’m saying is that there is something going on here.  I need to meet Nero.  I’m sure Pike was great, but tell me right now that he wasn’t starting to lose it towards the end?”  Jim watched Spock carefully, until he saw his eyes shift, telling him all he needed to know “That’s what I thought.  Now from what I have read you guys are organizing a meeting with Nero?  To organize a truce?  I want in”

“Presumptuous...”

Jim held up his hand cutting Spock off “You wanted me here to fix things, so let me fix things.  Also I’m assuming you are still chummy with Harrison.  If you could arrange a meeting with him that would be superb.  Thanks.”  Jim smiled as they all stood there looking shocked “Hikaru, Pavel? If I could meet with you both at some point as well that would be great.  You’ll be able to find me in Leonard’s room” Jim shot a glare at Leonard at this, they had a lot to discuss.  Picking up a file that had been thrown across the room and a couple of books that had been of particular interest, Jim nodded and pressed passed the masses of shocked faces and worked towards Leonard’s room.  He wasn’t sure where else to go to be honest and anyway he and Leonard needed to speak in private.

Jim had only made it a few meters from the door to the study when Leonard grabbed him by the shoulder, twisting him around.  Jim was shocked at the casual strength, his eyes going wide before he could stop them.

“Yeah” Leonard acknowledged his realization but then frowned “What the hell are you playing at Jim”

“What you brought me here to do”

Jim watched as Leonard went thoughtful and Jim realized with a start that he must be pushing his confidence and frustration through the bond.  Frowning he concentrated, visualized the walls and felt them slam down.  Leonard physically stumbled “How…?”

“Like I said, I’ve been researching.  Now if you want to discuss this I am more than willing, but not here”

Leonard nodded, his face slipping once more into the cool collected mask he had worn when they first met.

\--

Leonard was reeling, he had woken to an empty room and an empty pocket.  He had cursed himself a million different ways as he had bolted through the door, thankful that he hadn’t been locked inside.  When he made it upstairs he had run head long into Spock, Hikaru and Pavel who looked at him curiously.

“Jim’s gone”

That was all it took and they were all on the move, following Leonard who was surprised his senses led him into the meeting room and then to the office door.  Leonard hadn’t thought, just knocked down the doors.  His desperation to get to Jim, clawing at his sides.  Now he was in this mess, they were here in Leonard’s room and Jim was heading to the lounge where Leonard had slept, sitting and opening up the file he had taken from the office.  His face a mask of concentration. 

“So…”

“So” Jim looked up, obviously he had been waiting for Leonard to initiate the conversation “You and me, we need to talk”

Leonard shifted, uncomfortable “Look, I don’t know what you read but there are untapped sources of information.  I planned to break the bond, it isn’t fully made yet so we should be safe”

“You know that’s not true don’t you?  I read everything Leonard, if there is something else then I am willing to bet it’s untested.  No one else is crazy enough to risk insanity”

“I thought it best”

“You had no right Leonard, not only did you take me and turn me into this but then you were planning to push me away? Send me insane? I won’t be responsible for any more innocent deaths”

Leonard frowned “You don’t know what you’re talking about”

“Oh but you see I think I do” Jim sat up as he spoke the words and walked over to Leonard who bristled and stood up straighter.

“What happened to you man?  Why would it be so bad, from what I have read once we have bonded it won’t change things that much”

“We will be more in tune with each other and be uncomfortable if apart for any length of time”

“Hey look, I know I’m annoying but…”

“Jim, just stop, just let me try and find a way to break this.  We have time”

Leonard watched as Jim slumped, his hand going behind his head, rubbing at his hair.  It struck Leonard as a devastatingly human gesture.  “Yeah, I mean, sure.  Makes sense.  Look, is there a room? You said there would be a room”

“I would prefer if you were here”

“Look…” Jim appeared to gather himself his stance becoming aggressive “Either shit or get off the pot, I can’t deal with this hot and cold bullshit.  I can’t be aro… I controlled myself this morning, I’ll be fine.  I need space”

“I can see that” Leonard had been actively trying not to concentrate on Jim’s appearance, he was smeared with blood.  It had dried and cracked on his hands, chin, neck and shirt.  He was quite a site and Leonard couldn’t deny it called to him in a way it shouldn’t. 

“Fine, I’ll call Nyota.  She can sort you out”

“Gaila”

“What?”

“Gaila, I want Gaila” Jim said, it was clear that he was leaving no room for argument.  Something in Leonard’s chest twisted at the realization that Jim had requested the only non-mated female from the inner circle.

“She’s busy”

“She’s not”

Leonard realized they had come to stand only an inch from each other, both breathing quite hard unnecessarily, staring each other down.  Leonard could feel Jim’s struggle through the bond, standing up to one’s maker only a day after waking was unheard of.  Leonard could push it, force his dominance through the bond.  But he was tired and honestly the idea of having Jim out of the room was tempting even though the majority of him was screaming at him to keep Jim close.  Both as a maker, protecting his fledgling and as a mate to be, yearning to fulfill the unsated bond, that was like a constant burning in his chest.  He needed to escape for a while and if Jim needed Gaila for that to happen, well, it was a small sacrifice to make.  “Fine, I’ll call her”

Leonard watched as Jim nodded and gathered his papers from the table and left to wait by the door, his entire demeanor down cast, now that he wasn’t facing off with Leonard.  Something tugged at his chest at the thought, but this was for the best, really.

Picking up his phone he quickly dialed Gaila

“Hey sugar”

“Leonard” The voice down the line was concerned and Leonard couldn’t help but smile softly.  “Do I need to tell you how idiotic you’re being.  What I wouldn’t give…”

“It’s ironic really isn’t it? Fate can be cruel” Leonard cut Gaila off, glancing nervously at Jim.

“Fate brought us together again, so it can’t be all bad”

Leonard closed his eyes, seating himself down on the couch with a sigh

“We need to have a talk you and I” Gaila said, her voice firm

“Our talks never seem to end well”

“No your right, you are much more useful when your using your mouth in other ways”

Leonard laughed, he couldn’t help it, it was also somewhat satisfying feeling the glare at the back of his head from Jim.

“Seriously though Leonard, don’t throw this away please”

“Aspacia…”

“There you go, living in the past again my Ossa, my name is Gaila.  I left my past behind, why can’t you?  You need to learn to let go, you cling to these imaginings, these ideas you have on mating, on life.  If you would only let go”

Leonard looked up at Jim hesitantly, found the kid looking at him, curiosity on his features.

“We can discuss this later, but my answer won’t change.  Jim has asked for you”

“He is lovely Leonard”

Leonard growled, couldn’t help it. 

“Oh hush, I don’t play with others toys, you know this”

“He is not a toy” Leonard bit out, conscious of Jim’s attention on the conversation.

“Regardless, what does the lovely Jim want from me?”

“He needs a room” Leonard hesitated, looking over Jim’s tattered bloody shirt and stained jeans, his feet still bear “and clothes”

“You’re kicking him out?”

“He wants to leave”

“You are full of lies Leonard, but alright.  I will be down presently”

“Good” Leonard hung up the phone before running a hand over his face, glancing at Jim wearily, waiting for the inevitable questions.  He wasn’t disappointed.

“You two seem… close?”

“We’re old friends”

“I guess that expression takes on a whole new meaning when you’re an immortal”

“Spose it does” Leonard waited for more questions to come but instead he just found himself looking into Jim’s eyes, his own weariness reflected in Jim’s.  The tension built between them and Leonard could feel his walls failing, but then the inevitable knock came at the door and Leonard was forced to watch Gaila take away his… Jim, take away Jim.  Watch as Jim shot one last sad look over his shoulder… then he was gone.

Leonard flopped back onto the couch and closed his eyes, he realized that they had never talked about his snooping and what he had found.  Deciding it could wait at least a couple of hours Leonard allowed himself to sink into the couch.  He allowed his shields to lift just slightly, he couldn’t maintain a complete block, it was foolish to think that he could.  Twitching, Leonard’s eyes snapped open as he felt Jim’s lift, just a small amount, almost as if it was in response to Leonard’s actions.  Frowning, Leonard turned into the couch, refusing to think on it.  Or of a blood stained Jim Kirk lounging over the desk, a look of unwavering confidence on his face.  It was best not to dwell after all.

\--

“So you and Leonard not getting on so good sweetie?” Gaila’s warm voice pulled Jim from his thoughts

Jim huffed out a laugh “He doesn’t want me, shame that hating me will send us both insane”

“He doesn’t hate you, kids just got issues”

“Kid?”

“He’s always been a kid to me” Gaila smiled and Jim wondered how old she actually was

“So you knew Leonard? From the good old days”

“I did, I was… In some weird deluded way I suppose I was his aunt.  His maker’s mate was my sister”

“You’re older than him?”

“Can’t tell can you? Nary a wrinkle on me” Gaila winked as she came to the top of the stairs and did a twirl

“What happened to him?”

“What happens to all of us, if we stay alive long enough”

“What does that mean exactly?”

“War, betrayal, unrequited love… I’m sure there is more.  For Leonard mostly war, a lot of it, he has spent most of his life either lost or killing.  He never grasped the living side of vampirism”

“You’re not going to tell me anything specific are you?”

“No Jim, but here’s the thing.  I can tell you’re damaged, you have that broken look in your eye.  Likeness calls to likeness after all.  But I need you to do something for me”

Jim lifted his chin, coming to a stop as they entered a small hotel like room “What is that”

“I need you to suck it up.  I can’t work with two broken people and frankly you are the more functional of the two of you.  Leonard doesn’t just need to be with you he wants to, he’s just scared”

“I don’t think tha…”

“Look Jim, I don’t care what you have done, what monsters live in your past.  How unworthy you feel.  Because I know it’s not just Leonard that is stopping you from being with him.  I’ve seen the way you look at him.  It’s… enlightening is what it is”

“If you say so” Jim scoffed… wondering at her energy, marveling at it.

“Good, I’m glad we agree.  Now, you’re going to meet with everyone on the inner circle.  Put whatever this plan of yours is, into action and you are going to ignore Leonard.  It’s an old game but it works just as well now as it did centuries ago.  I want you combat training with Hikaru and Spock as well.  No don’t give me that look, Spock is a giant teddy bear, you’ve just been jabbing him in all his soft spots”

“Are you done” Jim asked lifting his eyebrows

“Not even close, I have a lot of work to do.  Here, this is a mobile phone it has everyone’s numbers in it.  It’s just easier, big building.  Leonard’s is in there as well, don’t use it”

Jim glared but took the phone

“Clothes are in the draws and cupboards, different styles all your sizes.  You should shower, you look like hell”

“Gee, thanks”

“No problem” Gaila smiled and went to move out the door but stopped when Jim hesitated, reaching towards her.

“Gaila… thanks”

“Like I said, no problem kid, just don’t give up on Leonard yet.  He needs this more than he knows”

“Needs what?”

“You”

\--

Jim did shower and he did rest.  He also called Hikaru and Pavel and organized to meet them.  It was more successful than he ever imagined.  His first meeting with Pavel had him bragging to Jim that he hadn’t found all his files, let along cracked them.  Jim had smiled and congratulated the kid, it had taken him almost two hours, his respect for Pavel had risen in that time but now that he knew he was looking for hidden files he eventually found them.  When he opened the file and saw the contents he had hesitated only a moment before delving into the ‘known history of the Vampire Leonard (Ossa)’.  It had shook him to the core, his shields had dropped completely.  But it was worth it, knowledge was power after all, even if it hurt Jim’s heart.

His nights took on a strange kind of routine, he would wake, go to retrieve blood from the fridge.  Meet up with Pavel and Hikaru, he would then spend hours in the library.  He even contacted Spock after a week to tell him he wasn’t sorry.  They seemed to have come to an understanding after that. Spock had even allowed him access to the office, in return Jim would badger him about the house’s defenses and their operations.  He would ask for something to be changed every day, just something small until the house suddenly seemed to be running just the way he liked it.  Over that time he learned to appreciate Spock’s dry humor and slowly the rocky seeds of friendship began to form.  He like the guy, even felt protective of him. Right now though he was fighting with him in one of the house’s empty rooms that had been set up as an activity room and protecting him could not be further from his mind. 

He was circling Spock on a large blue mat, his feet bare and he was struggling.  Both Hikaru and Spock favored martial art styles of fighting, Jim was more scrap yard and hand to hand marine core.  As such he found himself failing miserably, he couldn’t get his body to move the way he wanted and he found it hard to predict how Spock and Hikaru would move.  Right now they were working as a tag team.  Jim had come to spend most of his early mornings here, to finish off his nights with something exciting.  It stopped him from feeling restless, feeling the need to escape the house and catch a meal.  It allowed him to rest, Jim hesitated to call it sleep.  He would close his eyes and then he would be awake and hours would have flown by without him noticing.  He never dreamed, never shifted or half woke.  He was either fully awake, or fully… dead.  It was disturbing but Jim was finally getting used to it.  He felt anything but tired now though, as he carefully watched the two men circle him.  He forced his muscles to relax, less he give away his movements, tried to halt his breathing like he had been taught and tried to control his emotions.  He dodged Hikaru’s kick only to take a hit from Spock and his god damn stick thing.

“Fucking ouch, Jesus Spock” Jim stumbled, clutching at his jaw “remind me again why this is necessary”

“Enemies you confront could be armed with anything it is best to be prepared”

“Right, whatever, come at me” Jim adjusted his stance again but paused as he heard a gravelly voice travel from the corner of the room.

“He comes from military training, maybe you should let him fight how he wants”

“His way wastes valuable energy” Spock answered the voice and Jim didn’t say a word, he had been avoiding Leonard, just as Gaila had suggested.  But he had seen him around, he had always acknowledged his presence.  Just not with words.

“I bet he could take you down Spock, if you let him fight how he wants”

“That is not the point” Spock started but was cut off by Gaila who appeared by Leonard’s shoulder

“Do you think he could beat you Len” She whispered, shooting Jim a grin “I bet he could”

“I doubt it, don’t call me that”

“Scared to try?” Gaila circled around to Leonard’s front and Jim resisted growling at her as her hands latched onto his shoulders.  He was slowly getting better at controlling the variations of sounds that would try to escape his body at strange times.  Never the less he couldn’t help but glare.

“Why Len, when was the last time you were beaten? By a single man… or woman”

“You know when, you were there”

“You mean?”

“I do”

“You were a baby”

“Hardly”

“Then what are you scared of, go on”

Leonard heaved a put upon sigh, but nodded.  Jim couldn’t help but notice that the vampire was avoiding his eyes “Very well”

Jim tensed watching him walk over to the mat, stripping of his shirt, leaving him in a black singlet that clung in such interesting ways.  Jim swallowed, but stood up straighter, his shoulders suddenly tense, he shot Gaila a curious glance but she merely waved her arms at him encouragingly.  He rolled his eyes.  Spock and Hikaru left the mat as Leonard entered it.

“So I can fight how I want?”

“It don’t bother me kid”

Jim looked away, that simple sentence wreaking havoc with him.  Everything in his body seemed to pull tight at the words.

“Three rounds I think boys, best to let you get used to each other.  Pin for three seconds”

Jim felt himself nodding along with Leonard at Gaila’s words, then waited and waited some more for Leonard to strike first.  Smirking he finally looked up to meet Leonard’s eyes “It’s like that?” He asked

“It is”

“Well, all right then” and Jim lunged, the fight was brutal, violent hard hitting and fast.  Everything Jim had been missing from his fights with Hikaru and Spock.  He understood the necessity for fighting like that.  But this was his style, hard and dirty.  Grinning he lunged once more before being knocked to the ground so hard he felt his teeth rattle.  Before he could gather his bearings it had been three seconds, Leonard hadn’t even tried to pin him, he had just left him there to shake it off.  Struggling to his feet Jim shook himself and shot a glare at Leonard who smirked.

“You right there kid?”

“Bring it old man”

And suddenly they were at it again, Jim dodged better this time.  He had a feel, if only slightly for Leonard’s style.

He took a few hard blows to his ribs, chest and head though but he did manage to land a few as well.  Mostly though Jim was moving around dodging, learning how Leonard moved.  When Leonard pushed him to the ground with a jarring suddenness, his arms pressed behind his back he didn’t struggle, knowing the pin was too strong.  But he smirked because now, now he knew he had a chance and not necessarily at winning the fight, he could feel Leonard’s tight control, coiled up tight behind his shield.  He just needed to poke it.

Standing for the last time Jim tried to look timid, all the while watching for Leonard’s tells, he double checked his shields and then waited for Leonard to make a move.  Once again Leonard was being stubborn and refusing but that worked in Jim’s favor, he needed to collect himself.

“So, finally decided to come out of hiding?” Jim asked quietly, he could practically hear all the other ears in the room perking up though, brushing a limp stand of hair out of his eyes he grinned at his maker.

“I wasn’t…”

“Don’t lie Bones” Jim smirked at the frown on Leonard’s face

“A maker scared of his own fledgling, that has to be a first right?” Jim asked shooting a glance towards Spock “Am I right?” Jim watched as Spock simply raised an eyebrow, but he could see the smirk he was fighting off.

Jim watched as Leonard scowled, turned away, Jim could tell from his body language that he was set to walk away.  He needed to make him angry, but he had no idea how to achieve that… unless… an image of Spock’s eyes filled with madness as he tipped over the desk flashed before his eyes.  Jim smiled.

“You would think that with a maker as crappy as yours, you would at least try to be better to your fledglings?” Jim paused, feeling the shields around Leonard waver before slamming shut.  Instead of causing him to stumble however it made him grin, he was close.

“Just how long did he leave you in that dungeon Bones?” Jim stepped closer to Leonard, somewhat regretting what he was going to say next.  But he was running out of options, Jim stepped up to Leonard, close enough that he could feel his breath gust over his lips softly “I’ve been reading Bones, it’s all I’ve been doing.  I’ve cracked all the codes to this lousy system, I wasn’t sure I believed you when you told me you were a psychopath… but after what I read.  How did it feel?  The wars, the blood?”

“Don’t talk about things you don’t understand” Leonard choked out, his eyes barreling into Jim’s

“You think I don’t understand war?” Jim huffed, letting his eyes travel down Leonard’s body briefly.

“No actually, you know what forget about that… How did the blood of those people feel, in the street, the women? I read there were some children as well… did you feel vindicated in the end? Was it worth their lives?  While you bent down in the street and defiled the corpse of your maker to increase you morbid collection of bones?” Jim watched as Leonard flinched, felt his shields shudder

“Did you mourn for him, Danti, your maker? Did you cry out for your murderous creator, the one that tortured you, kept you locked away only to turn you into this… this pathetic excuse for a monster… when he eventually let you out?  When he died?  When he was murdered, pulled apart by lesser beings?  It broke you didn’t it?  Is that what happened… Ossa?”

Jim didn’t register the movement, he must have been thrown across the room but it was too sudden, too abrupt, all he knew was the sensation the feeling of his skull cracking against the wall.  Reeling Jim put his hands out to stop Leonard but the fists were landing too quickly.  He felt himself tipping to the side but Leonard followed him down.  Grunting Jim resisted curling into himself and instead used Leonard’s downward momentum to flip the vampire behind him.  He could hear voices, feel hands grabbing at him but he threw them off easily, landing on top of Bones and delivering a few punches, it was a momentary victory though as Leonard slammed his forehead into his own sending him reeling backwards again.  Jim staggered backwards managing to get to his feet before Leonard collected himself.  Jim ran forwards as Leonard stumbled and planted a hard knee to his chest watching in satisfaction as he flew back, dislodging plaster from the wall as he crashed.  His smirk didn’t last long though as Leonard was moving back, the speed incredible and they clashed back together, fists, legs flying.  Jim held his own for only a moment before he felt his feet swiped out from under him and Leonard was standing above him.  Jim blocked, expecting the blows to start reigning down but he looked up to see Leonard being restrained by Spock and Gaila.  Jumping to his feet and placed a hard kick right to his center, shooting him out of Spock and Gaila’s arms, their faces, at least in Gaila’s case looking shocked.  Ignoring them, Jim ran forward and slammed Leonard into the wall he was currently peeling himself out of.  Jim barely had him pinned before he found himself turned and slammed into the indentation Leonard’s body had left behind.  Hands wrapping themselves around his throat. 

Jim grunted, bringing his hands up to slowly pry Leonard’s hands from his neck.

“Don’t… Uhnnn… Jesus… Don’t know why you… people.  Insist. On choking me.” Jim rasped, his abused throat raw and broken “Didn’t you get… the memo” Jim head butted Leonard and felt a moment of satisfaction as Leonard stumbled backwards “I don’t breathe anymore”

Jim was already flying back towards Leonard when he heard it, the small huff of laughter “You’re an idiot”, Leonard was standing unsteadily, brushing himself off, covered in plaster dust and blood.  Jim was suddenly mesmerized by it and it brought him to a staggering halt, suddenly and violently exhausted as his energy ran dry.

“I thought we established you were the idiot” Jim returned, he could feel his knees failing him but he refused to collapse.

“What was the plan here Jim?  Did you even have one?”

“Maybe I just wanted to see you snap?”

“Like I said… idiot”

Jim felt something light up in his chest as Leonard glanced up at him, a small smile curling at the corner of his lips. “I dunno, was kind of fun”

“And you think I’m the damaged one?” Leonard smiled but shook his head softly, sending plaster dust to the floor. 

Jim waited, watching, but Leonard only gathered himself before walking towards the door, picking up his jacket on the way and then he was gone.

Jim collapsed, but never reached the floor, looking from side to side he realized Spock and Gaila were at either arm, Hikaru hovering in concern near them. 

“That was incredibly stupid” Spock muttered but Jim turned to Gaila who was grinning ear to ear and who looked at Jim, her eyes bright “Brilliant Jim!”

\--

Jim was in his room an hour later, washed and filled with bagged blood, his body slowly healing from being beaten to a pulp when his phone beeped.  Jim frowned, reaching for the phone there was a single text from…from Leonard.  Eyes wide Jim quickly opened the message to read the words

L – This doesn’t change anything

Jim smirked as he typed out a reply, lifting his shields he allowed his excitement to travel through the incomplete bond and felt Leonard’s quake in response. 

J – We’ll see


	12. Contravene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for violence
> 
> It's been a while, life has been kicking me in the rear :) The good news is that the next chapter after this one is almost completed. Also this is an extra long one for you! I hope you enjoy. Any mistakes are my own, one day I will go through and edit all my stories again... but it is not this day ;)

Slowly but surely Jim was starting to find that the coven was becoming a home to him, a family.  However he was growing increasingly frustrated with Leonard, beyond the occasional text and the briefest of head inclinations when he ran into him Leonard barely acknowledged him.  He would turn up to meetings that Spock held, occasionally voicing a sarcastic comment but had, for all intents and purposes stepped down from leadership altogether.  The meetings mostly consisted of hushed voices in small groups as they organized patrols and defenses, followed by Jim and Spock fighting tooth and nail for the floor.  Jim scoffing at every suggestion Spock made while Spock jarringly put a halt to anything Jim might suggest, Jim could feel Leonard’s amusement and occasional jealousy at watching them fight but he chose not to play on it.  Eventually Jim and Spock learned to compromise, Gaila reassuring him that Spock was trying to take on Jim’s ideas but still felt as if he could not trust a fledgling.  Jim accepted their tense relationship and concentrated on improving their communication while he ever so slowly and carefully continued to change things.  He was doing this now, talking to Hikaru in a dark corner.

“Look, I understand why you have fewer men guarding the entrances during the day, the likelihood of vampires attacking is slim but we need to do something.  It would only take for someone to realize that this was the time we were most vulnerable” Jim was frustrated, he had spent the previous day scouting the grounds, watching the patrols, what there was of them anyway, it was pathetic. 

“Jim we simply don’t have the men” Hikaru sounded tired defeated, for good reason.  Jim had been following him most of the night and had kept on about it during their sparring session. 

“Then we need more men, I don’t think anyone realizes how vulnerable we are here, this mansion is the biggest damn target I have ever seen”

“It’s in the center of our territory, to get to us they would have to get through our lookouts through the city” Hikaru sighed, fidgeting with his phone.  No doubt trying to find the daytime shift rosters that Jim had demanded be sent to him.

“Lookouts we don’t have during the daylight hours” Jim cut in

“Obviously”

“What about all these humans you guys keep?  What are they, just pets?” Jim scrunched his nose at this. He was still growing used to the humans that milled about the property.  They came and went, some choosing to stay during the daylight hours.  Jim was confused by them, Leonard had forbidden him from feeding on them and he didn’t find it difficult to obey.  It seemed strange to him and it was easier to live on bagged blood at any rate.  They still called to him like sirens, the smell of their blood burning itself into his memory and his senses but the revulsion he had at his own reactions kept him from acting on the impulses.  That and Leonard’s command that he could feel like a physical weight in his chest whenever he went near the humans. 

 

“Jim!” Jim spun around to face Spock who had obviously followed them after their training session.

Jim couldn’t help but smirk at the agitated tone in Spock’s voice, taking delight in the fact that he had finally started calling him Jim.

“Spock! You’re here! Just in time as well”

“Speaking tactics Jim? You know we cannot spare the numbers for what you suggest” Spock replied, situating himself between Jim and Hikaru, as if his mere presence could stop them from messing with the roster.

“Then we need more numbers, fairly simple” Jim replied, narrowing his eyes at Spock.

“As I have explained to you Jim, on multiple occasions, we cannot recruit any more numbers, we are limited in this”

“Limited by the humans?” Jim asked, he was starting to lose patience with these bizarre rules.

‘Yes”

“The humans we are protecting?”

“That is correct”

“Perhaps we should renegotiate” Jim suggested for perhaps the hundredth time

“No Jim”

“Then recruit humans”

“As I said…”

“I didn’t say turn them” Jim cut Spock off

The silence was deafening and Jim looked from Hikaru to Spock and back again… waiting for them to argue but when none came realization struck.

“You… you had never thought of that before…. Had you?” Both shook their head in the negative “So what they are good enough to keep around like pets and throw pillows but not good enough to fight for you, for themselves.  It’s them you are protecting after all, isn’t it?  Even though you are afraid to disobey them?”

“It has been an adjustment, we have not… have not… the closest we have come to establishing a working relationship with humans is this arrangement, we protect the city from our own kind and the supernatural, they leave us in relative peace”

“Sounds like a crappy deal”

“They are many, we are few.  They have access to weapon technology we do not have”

“Forgive me, but wasn’t Pavel like a rocket scientist his past life, or something similar” Jim spoke up

“…Something like that but…”  Spock was getting that bewildered look again, the one Jim loved so much, it meant he was trying to process that Jim was actually making sense.

“Yet we have no other weapons other than our swords and the occasional gun, that is more of an inconvenience to vampires than anything else, from what I have read?”

“Bullets can slow down, injure or incapacitate a vampire for a time, they cannot kill them”

“No but I am willing to bet a rocket scientist as smart as Pavel could find something that does, you have had him for how long?”

“eighty-two years, four months, thr..”

“Yeah okay, I get the point and you didn’t think to perhaps… I dunno, get the kid to bake up a vampire bomb or something in his kitchen”

“The creation of such a weapon is ill advised, it could be turned against us by humans or other vampires” Spock was getting haughty again, Jim frowned.   
“So what we cower in fear and wait to be destroyed?”

“I will not be responsible for the elimination of my kind” Jim could tell Spock was working himself into another of his moods

“Perhaps something small, something layered in technology that would make it impossible to use the weapon for anything other than what we need it for” Hikaru’s voice cut through Jim and Spock’s glaring and they both paused to consider it

“I am still sure that it is a bad idea”

Jim took a moment before speaking “It wouldn’t hurt to have him look, something discreet, easily hidden, yet effective.  Isn’t Scotty all over that crap as well, I have been down into the cellar, he has that many experiments running down there…””

“I would be amenable to him developing the theory on paper perhaps”

“Great!” Jim slapped Spock on the shoulder, delighting in his flinch “Hikaru get Pavel to meet us tomorrow night, first thing.  Make sure you are there as well… Spock brings the rest of the crew, we will definitely need Scotty I want him working on it with Pavel… Actually, you as well Hikaru”

“I find it disconcerting that you assume this will go ahead merely because you ask it Jim”

“And yet you will allow it, won’t you Spock?” Jim shot him a grin, watching in amusement as the man slunk away to the shadows an exasperated sigh leaving his lips.

“On it Jim” Hikaru spoke easily, his enthusiasm clear in his sudden spurt of energy.  “Best get some rest Jim, full day of meetings tomorrow.  Including Nero…”

Jim picked up on the hesitancy in his voice and smiled reassuringly.  “Don’t worry, I promised Spock I wouldn’t do anything stupid”

“Jim, I’m slowly learning that your definition of stupid is different to the rest of us”

Jim laughed despite himself “I promised I would be good Hikaru, stay in the corner and observe” Hikaru didn’t look convinced “I promised Bones” Jim watched as Hikaru finally smiled hesitantly, reassured. 

“All right Jim, see you later then”

“You bet” Jim watched as Hikaru moved away, most of the coven had already bedded down for the night, those that weren’t on watch duty. The precious few that were, Jim could feel them, a low buzz in his head when he looked for them, right now though he was looking for something else and there it was.  The deep hum, buried deep but resoundingly, defiantly there, Bones… Jim smiled, he was still awake.  There was a churning in his stomach… he had lied to Hikaru, he had promised Bones no such thing.  He couldn’t, he had no wish to lie to Bones but at the same time they hadn’t talked about the meeting.  Jim yearned to, his nerves were prickling under his skin and yet he couldn’t bring himself to go to him.  Not when he wasn’t wanted.  Instead he picked up his phone, his fingers flying over the keys.  He had taken to texting Leonard whenever he had a spare moment of time.  More often than not he didn’t receive a reply, but he felt it was obnoxious enough to make sure Leonard was constantly forced to think about him and yet not invasive enough to demand that he stop.

J- Goodnight Bones

The reply was almost instantaneous

L – Its morning dumass

Jim felt his heart lift at the simple acknowledgment, regardless of the contents.  He then had a horrified moment where he realized how dependent he was on this man.  But more and more he was finding that he liked it here, he liked these people.  Having a purpose again was like waking up from a coma, he felt as if the last year of his life had been nothing but a bad alcohol driven dream.  With a sigh he pocketed the phone and headed to his empty room.  Sleep as usual these days came on quick, the moon dragging him down with it.  He didn’t dream, it still unnerved him and waking was a sudden transition that still left him a little shocked.  The whole process still seemed like blinking on a rollercoaster.  Shaking it off, Jim jumped up and walked to his cupboard, the only form of decoration in the room.  Slowly he started pulling on his clothes, before gathering all the knives he had begged from Hikaru and hid them on his person.  Smiling to himself, he headed to the meeting room, if nothing else, today would prove to be an interesting one. 

Jim found himself distracted during the meeting, he let the now overly passionate Hikaru, Sulu and Scotty fight the battle for him.  Apparently they had gotten together last night to discuss ideas when Jim had slipped off to bed.  Instead, he allowed the low hum of want some free reign, ignoring it was becoming more and more difficult the longer this went on.  Catching and holding Leonard’s eyes across the table Jim shivered, the bonds demands to rock through his body, causing him to lean forward without his permission, his eyelids drooping.  The feeling was like nothing he had felt before, it was filled with desire yes but also possessiveness, anger, entitlement but the most prominent was that of unrelenting desperation.  It caused his hands to shake, he wanted to be near Leonard, he felt as if he could never be close enough, the urge to throw himself at his feet and beg for something, anything was horrifyingly strong, causing disgust to curl in his cut, inevitably causing Jim to turn away, his brow furrowed. 

“Jim?”

“What? Oh, sorry Spock, what was it?”

“Did you want to be involved in the planning of this so-called secret weapon?”

“Sure, sign me up” Jim grinned at Spock’s exasperated expression and the grinning faces of Hikaru, Pavel and Scotty who all had their heads together, whispering excitedly. 

“Very well, now Jim we are leaving to meet with Nero, Can I trust you to merely observe the proceedings?”

Jim nodded distractedly, more interested in watching Leonard tense up at the mention of the meeting, his jaw clenching in interesting ways.  Jim smirked, tracing the line of that jaw with his eyes, he could probably make it across the table and bite it before anyone could stop him, he was getting faster.  However, his eyes were drawn away at the sound of Spock clearing his throat, Jim rolled his eyes.

“I’ll be good” Jim winked “Promise”

“Myself, Leonard, Nyota and Jim then” Spock spoke to the room as a whole

“and Hikaru” Jim cut in, his eyes now on Leonard as the man snapped his eyes to him, he hadn’t said a word since entering the room.  It was starting to grate on Jim. 

“We may only take four” Spock snapped.

“We should have Hikaru”

“Nyota is our negotiator and he will expect myself and Leonard to be present”

“Look, Nero will bring five” Jim started only be to cut off by Spock

“He will not, it was discussed”

“You guys were the ones to request this meeting yeah? He was the one who agreed to your terms? Which I’m guessing were a neutral location, probably on the outskirts of Harrisons’ area? Only four people, no weapons? Am I close here?”

Spock said nothing only continued to glare at Jim, it was with surprise that Jim turned towards the voice that did speak.

“Spot on Jim” Leonard’s voice rumbled across the room, Jim couldn’t help but shiver but managed to get himself together.

“W… well then, he will come with four men, including him, that will be five”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because… Spock.  You put him at a disadvantage made him appear weak for accepting your terms.  However he won’t want to outright defy you in any way.  If he brings one more man he can claim that he thought you meant four plus him or some other such thing.  It will make him feel like he has one up on you”

“You don’t even know him”

“I have read his file, talked to everyone in this damn coven that has ever had a thing to do with him.  He will have five men, no more, no less.  We are taking Hikaru.”

Jim watched as Spock looked to Leonard who nodded ever so subtly but Jim caught it “Fine Jim, so be it.  Hikaru go and find Nyota, she will fill you in, we leave in one hour”

Jim watched as Hikaru left with a wide-eyed glance to Jim, Pavel and Scotty following, obviously wanting to leave the tension of the room.  He waited for them go before standing to leave himself

“I will meet you outside then” He muttered but paused as he felt the bond pulse strangely, bringing his legs to a halt.  He refused to turn and face Leonard though.

“Jim, you will only observe today”

Jim frowned, he had no intention of doing any such thing.  But he could feel something rising up from the bond, almost suffocating in its intensity so she turned toward Leonard quickly and nodded “Of course, I will do what is best for the coven.  I won’t do anything crazy”

It wasn’t a lie Jim told himself, breathing a sigh of relief as the bond tampered back down.  The last thing he wanted to do was test the strength of a command given through it, even an unfinished bond such as theirs, although he knew he would likely have to at some point.  Especially after today.  Attempting a smile he left the room, he needed to get himself together if he was going to do this right. 

                                                                                                --

“Yes Nyota” Jim mumbled for perhaps the hundredth time.  He was in the back seat of the non-descript car trying to ignore Nyota while simultaneously looking for evidence that this was the car Leonard had kidnapped him in. 

“Jim!” Jim squawked as Nyota wacked him around the side of the head “Pay attention!”

“Why do I have to pay attention if I’m not going to say anything?” Jim muttered, rubbing the side of his head

“Anything could happen in there”

“That’s what I’m here for” Hikaru chimed in, wedged on Jim’s other side, to Jim’s his disgust he had been placed in the middle of the back seat.  He was starting to feel a little claustrophobic.

“Be still my beating heart, thank god we brought our hero along” Leonard’s rumble reached them from the driver’s seat

“I still think I should be driving” Hikaru complained back, crossing his arms, bumping into Jim’s side.  Jim huffed out an annoyed breath before throwing his arms up and throwing his body back so his arms came to rest behind Hikaru and Nyota.

“It’s my car” Leonard snapped “When you get a car, you can drive”

“How about I get a god damn car and make it a decent size” Jim complained as Nyota shifted, trying to make space between them

“Jim, get off me”

“I’m not on you! There is no room in this car!”

“The car is perfectly economical” Spock piped up

“Not if you don’t want me doing the stretch and yawn on your girlfriend here Spock”

“I am unfamiliar with this term”

“Bullshit” Jim muttered, tugging on Niota’s hair and inserting a finger into Hikaru’s ear at the same time

“Ergh Jim!” The cries came simultaneously, Jim grinned victoriously

“Yeah that’s right, scream it, say my name”

“Children!” Leonard turned around, his eyes livid.  “Sit, behave or so help me….”

“Say it Bones” Jim’s eyes were wide hopeful, his arms once again resting on his own knees

Leonard glared, turning back to the front, shooting an exasperated look to Spock who Jim could swear smirked. 

“I will turn this car around” Jim spat in a bad interpretation of Leonard’s voice.  At least Hikaru laughed and Jim smiled at Nyota’s bad attempt at hiding her grin.

“Why are you turning the car around Jim?” Spock asked and Jim rolled his eyes. 

“Never mind Spock” Jim smiled, leaning back, settling in as Nyota started up on her speech once again.

                                                                                                --

He was bald, that was the first thing Jim noticed and it threw him slightly.  The tattoos, oddly dark eyes and odd looking ears.  They were all fine, in line with what Jim was expecting but the baldness… that hadn’t been a possibility for some reason.  Then there was the smell, like most vampires his smell was similar to the species as a whole but there were subtle differences, hints of things.  Jim had slowly started to associate the smells with moods and occasionally status.  There was something in Nero’s scent though that made Jim frown… feeling the need to move up to the man and sniff his neck Jim took a step back,  horrified at himself. With a sharp glare from Nyota Jim fell in behind her and took in the rest of the room.  As Jim had suspected Nero had set himself up in the center of the room, sitting at the table with two of his men as two others stood behind him and to the side.  Advisors and body guards Jim thought to himself, sizing up the men at the back.  It was interesting to note that neither of the men were watching the windows.  Jim and Hikaru went to those now on opposite sides of the room.  Situating themselves so they could watch the streets and the room.  Spock, Leonard and Nyota sat opposite Nero, Spock sat at the center but Jim noticed that Leonard held most of the attention.  Leonard who looked distracted, bored… picking at something under his nail rather than taking in the room or its occupants like everyone else seemed to be busy doing.  As Jim suspected it was Spock who broke the silence.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with us today, I believe we have much to discuss”

“Yes, Hello Spock, Leonard.  Who might your friends be?”

Jim could hear the agitation in his voice.  It was obvious that he was thrown by their extra person.

“This is Nyota, this is Hikaru and Jim” Spock said nodding in their direction, Jim noticed his shoulders were stiffer than normal.  He couldn’t blame him.  Jim had questioned the sanity of taking in four members of their inner circle and yet it was a choice between taking in those that would have the best shot at procuring the peace they so desperately wanted or playing it safe.  Jim had made it worse by adding Hikaru to the mix, but he had a feeling they would need some extra muscle. 

“A pleasure, I’m sure” Nero didn’t bother to introduce his men instead choosing to lean back in his chair and look the three in front of him over.

“You wish for peace? I am unsure why you wanted to meet in the grounds of our mutual enemy.  I find myself questioning your sanity”

“This is neutral territory Nero, we were limited in our options.  We do hope it had not caused you any undue distress”

“Never my dear” Nero soothed Nyota, grim satisfaction filtering through in his voice and Jim paused… that wasn’t right.  He seemed too comfortable, relaxed.  Jim pulled away from the window, his shoulders tensing.  Something was very wrong.  Feeling a questioning nudge from the bond Jim filtered his distress through but was unpracticed in actually trying to communicate anything beyond a simple emotion.  Never the less Jim watched as Leonard sat up straighter.

“the sooner we negotiate, the sooner we can leave” Leonard finally spoke, placing his hands on the table.

“Why the rush Leonard, It’s been so long after all”

“Not long enough”

There was a soft gasp from Nyota but it was Spock that cut in “Please excuse Leonard”

“of course, tensions are high after all and I’m sure we all know how well Leonard can control his temper.  Surprising he hasn’t yet gone the way of Pike”

“Enough” Spock’s voice snapped and the room fell to silence as he slowly seated himself back down in his chair, straightening his shirt. “I will not have you speak to a member of the coven in such a way.  We have shown you nothing but respect.  Please return the courtesy”

“Of course, of course, our apologies” Jim’s mouth tightened as Nero rolled his eyes, brushing of Spock’s comments.  Looking to Nyota Jim watched as her shoulders slowly fell from their tense position, no doubt affected by Spock’s loss of control.  Her scent was flaring with distress and that small hint of Spock.  Jim paused in his musings, his eyes widening.  That’s what was off about Nero’s scent, it wasn’t all… him, there was something more, someone more.  He was mated.  There was nothing in his file about this, nothing at all.  Jim madly went through the territory information in his head, bringing up the inconsistencies that had stood out like a sore thumb to him.  Over the past six months Nero’s territories had been decreasing, but there were few deaths listed from his coven.  Spock had assured him that, that was due to them not knowing of the casualties however patrols had never noted a decrease in Nero’s numbers or a change in the number of men in patrols.  Jim had mused over their lack of change, loss of numbers and loss of territory would surely need a change of routine.  This time it had been Hikaru who mentioned that older vampires were resistant to change, perhaps they were turning more humans without their knowledge.  But Jim knew Nero’s men slipping past their borders was a rare event and people now minded their curfew, accidents happened of course but overall it was a rare event.  Jim felt light headed as he realized what was happening here and looked out the window nervously, if this was an ambush they had little defense.  But he couldn’t just… he needed proof.  It was possible they were being blocked in as they spoke however, he couldn’t see.  Cursing himself he realized why Nero’s men had no interest in looking out the windows, they knew they were safe here… If Nero was Harrisons bitch.

Through all of this the others had been talking, Nyota was trying to hash out details and to Jim’s horror Nero just looked bored.  Jim swallowed, he was right.  This was a trap.

“Harrison will know if we join forces and come down all the harder because of it.  Isn’t he meant to be on your side, playing nice with the humans?”

“We are not convinced” Spock spoke, his eyes hard and Jim swallowed at twitch at Nero’s mouth.  How could they not have seen it, they were being played for fools. 

“So what, you want to poke the bear?   The bear that is playing nice? Seems counterproductive but hey, I’m in.  If you can make it worth my while”

Jim stepped up, his body tense he really hoped he wasn’t wrong here “We can promise you Harrisons death if you join us.  Within a month”

Nero scoffed as Spock turned to glare, Leonard’s head snapping up his eyes burrowing into Jim

“I’m sorry boy? What was that?”

“We promise you Harrison’s death within the month”

“And how exactly could you promise me such a thing? Honestly…” Here Nero turned to Spock and Leonard “If I knew it was bring your child to work day I would have brought my most recent progeny”

“My apologies Nero, I can assure you that…”

Jim cut over Nyota, ignoring her furious expression

“It’s already in place, he will be dead within the month.  Handled completely by outside sources, it will seem like an accident.  It has been in the planning for months”  Jim motioned to Leonard, Spock and Nyota “they have been planning it for months, they didn’t want you to know.

“What?”

Jim could see the panic rising behind Nero’s eyes and crowed internally in victory and fear.  It confirmed it, this was a trap. 

“Well we can’t have the humans know that it was us that took out Harrison”

“No, how do you expect to take him out” Jim could see it now, it was written all over his face, his fear.

“Jim, sit down” Spock had jumped up but paused when Leonard and Nyota both placed a hand on his arm stilling him.  Both their eyes were wide, fearful, they knew”

“As I said, outside sources have it all lined up perfectly, we have already given them the go ahead.  All we have to do now it wait”

“The humans, they will work it out”

“Unlikely”

“WHO ARE YOUR SOURCES”

“Its irrelevant”

Jim found himself pressed up against a wall, Nero breathing down his neck.  Jim kicked out on instinct, sending the half-crazed man sprawling.

“Sorry Nero, do you take issue with someone killing your mate”

“I’ll kill you!” Nero screamed, rushing Jim again and everything seemed to happen at once.  Hikaru intercepted Nero.  Spock meanwhile had flipped the table and before Jim could register their movements Spock, Nyota and Leonard were fighting off the four other vampires in the room.  Jim quickly lunged after Nero as he saw Hikaru go flying, snarling Nero spun to face him, toppling to the side slightly as Jim managed to land a punch.  Jim lunged forward, hoping to topple him over but instead found himself pressed to the ground, a hand to his throat and Nero’s breath hot in his ear. 

“Stupid fledgling, Harrison’s men are on their way, you are all going to die here” Jim shuddered In disgust, kicking out, trying to dislodge the other man but he was such a solid weight, pinning him down.  Snarling Jim struggled, hearing someone shout his name as he felt teeth graze his neck.  Disgust, shock and outrage flew through his system and suddenly Jim had a leg free and had twisted away from Nero’s grip, a sickening crunch sounding as Jim struck out with strength he didn’t know he had at Nero’s elbow.  Standing, Jim quickly pulled a knife from his jacket and threw it to Hikaru who was dodging the strikes of one of the other vampires, he caught it and slit the guys throat in the same movement.  Jumping on his flailing, bloodied body and following it through by plunging the knife into the other vampire, obviously aiming to remove his head.  Jim looked away as Hikaru was covered in the vampire’s blood, Jim’s hands now holding two other knives, one he threw to Spock.  There was no clear way to get one to Nyota, the other he deflected Nero’s enraged approach.  It was surprisingly easy, Jim could see he had let his instincts take him over.

He didn’t see Leonard until the other vampire had Nero pinned up against the wall, snarling like an animal a knife in his ribs twisting.  Jim winced as Nero coughed blood into Leonards face who just grinned and twisted the knife further prompting a scream from the other man.  Jim felt himself still, watching as Leonard went completely mad with rage, he could feel the violent echo of it in his own body. 

“Leonard stop!” We have to get out of here

Jim flicked his eyes over to where Hikaru, Spock and Nyota were decapitating the last of the other vampires, the room had turned red. 

Making a decision as he heard Nero scream, the sound wet and catching in his throat.  Jim knew that sound, shuddered at the memory of death on the battlefield.  Making a decision Jim moved, striking Nero over the head with the but of his knife, hearing a resounding crack and something fracture under his hand.  He knew it wouldn’t kill him, but it was satisfying to watch the man drop to the ground, his body sliding off of Leonard knife.  Leonard looked on, his eyes wide.

“We can’t kill him, Bones.  We have to go.  Now.  They are on their way.  Now!” Jim yelled out to the others watching as they glanced up and then they were all moving.  Jim could feel Leonard reeling, still filled with anger and rage.  Only just stopping himself from going back for Nero, confusion and hurt hitting hit Jim through the bond.  Jim pushed it down relentlessly, he couldn’t afford to be distracted.  As they reached the car he took in the damage, Spock was bleeding heavily from several wounds, one concerning one was on his neck.  Nyota was sporting some scratches, nothing serious it seemed and Hikaru was limping. His attention was drawn away before he could assess Bones, the sound of tires screeching reached his ears as three cars sped around the corner

“Shit!” Jim muttered as they reached the car

“I’m driving” Hikaru announced, swinging himself into the driver’s seat

Jim swung himself in the back with Nyota and Leonard who Jim had pushed in front of him “Ny, call Scotty, I have him waiting with a team in cars on the border.  He can meet us half way.  Jim was relieved when she didn’t hesitate, didn’t question, just dialed the number.  Jim didn’t hear the conversation as three things happened at once.  First he was thrown back into the seat as Hikaru flawed the car, calling on some reserved power that Jim wasn’t aware the car was capable of.  Secondly shots rang out but most importantly, thirdly Jim was pressed back into the seat by Leonard’s sudden and overwhelming presence.  His hands pressed into the seat beside him and the vampire nuzzled at his bloody neck, his rumbling growl a warning that held Jim still more than the pressure of Leonard’s hands at his wrists.

“Bones?” Jim asked wearily, still all too aware of the guns blazing in the distance, of the squealing tires, In response, Leonard just moved closer, growled deeper, the sound reverberating through Jim’s chest.  With a gasp he turned his head to the side, his body going limp, he refused to believe it was in submission.   This time, when Leonard leaned forward, his breath skating along Jim’s neck it was a snarl that exited his throat, his teeth slicing into Jim’s throat effortlessly.  Jim arched, grunting at the sensation, as pain ran up his side but went limp when Leonard began to draw from him.  The bond hummed in satisfaction, surrounding him with warmth and Jim succumbed to it, losing himself in the feeling of Leonard of the overwhelming need to be closer.  Shifting he pressed up, gasping as Leonard’s fangs sunk deeper, the slicing pain offset by the thrum of want and desire that settled heavily in his groin.  Jim’s hands twitched, wanting to touch, to pull Leonard closer still.  He needed to feel him.  Groaning Jim tried to fight against the grip of Leonard’s hands but met too much resistance, in a way that was almost better than getting a hand free to touch.  As Leonard drew his blood from him he felt as if he was sinking into Leonard, the fear and anger that had been seeping into his bond from Leonard was slowly being replaced by affection and contentment so strong Jim was left reeling from the sensation.  As Leonard drew away from his neck a contented purr rumbling in his  chest Jim groaned, before he really understood what he was doing he had Leonard flipped, straddling his lap.  His own blood called to him as it slipped down Leonard’s chin and Jim bent to lick a stripe up his neck, reaching for his chin and finally his mouth which he dived into with a groan, his arms clutching at Leonard’s shoulders as Leonard’s snapped up, gripping at his hips.  Jim groaned at the sensations, he could feel the bruises forming as he fell into the kiss with Leonard, his tongue delving, chasing his own blood a part of him enjoying the taste, a possessive part of him settling at the taste of himself on Leonard.  Another part wanted the taste gone, he wanted to taste Leonard and only Leonard, it had been so long… he needed.  JWith a groan he pulled away from Leonard’s mouth, kissing down his neck, all he knew was he wanted more.  More of Leonard’s taste, more of his smell, his presence, just more.  He delighted in the noises Leonard was emitting, sought to bring more out of him.  Coming to rest at his neck he opened his mouth, moaning as Leonard exposed his neck, an invitation.  Then reality came crashing back down as he felt something hot and sharp burn through his shoulder, felt it splinter and graze bone, tear through his flesh.  Snarling he pulled away, the world coming back into focus with a sudden clarity only now realizing that Nyota was shaking his arm.

“Get down Jim, for fucks sake!”

Jim allowed himself to slide off Leonard’s lap.

“Talk about making yourself a target, also it’s not like you didn’t have enough blood loss as it is” Nyota, was fussing over Jim, checking his wound.  Jim noticed she didn’t go anywhere near his neck though.

“Is this really the time for a lecture?” Jim asked, shooting Leonard a concerned look who merely shrugged, looking as dazed as Jim before turning away and picking at a bullet hole in his own shoulder, he seemed unconcerned.

“Is this really the time to be doing whatever the fuck you two were doing? Leonard?!”

“Nyota, Spock wants you” Leonard muttered, grunting as another bullet managed to pierce the armor of the car.  Jim watched as immediately Nyota turned away to continue fussing over Spock.

“How have our tires not exploded by now?” Jim asked, risking a glance over the back of the seat, to his surprise they were actually managing to pull away from the cars. 

“These tires don’t go flat, Scotty’s tech.  If they keep going however we might have some trouble” Hikaru sounded more excited than worried as he sped through corners and back streets, obviously trying to lose the other cars. 

“There is going to be hell to pay with the embassy for this” Leonard muttered, absently still picking at bullet lodged in his shoulder…

Jim was hypnotized with the flow of blood  but still managed to reply “the embassy?”

“Mmmm the humans, having a gun fight in the middle of Harrison’s territory, it is considered a peaceful zone

“Nero is mated to Harrison, I will admit I had not expected this turn of events” Jim flinched at the breathless and distant quality to Spock’s voice, watching as Nyota did her best to stop the flow of his blood.

“Jim, why didn’t you let me kill him?” Leonard’s voice was quiet, but Jim could feel the anger and the indignation building up through the bond once again. 

Jim sighed, flinching as another bullet flew through the back windshield.   “If you did then Harrison would have come after us, tonight.  We don’t have the resources to defend ourselves adequately.  Not from Harrison and Nero’s men combined.  They don’t know that though… this way they will hesitate.  We will have time to gather ourselves.

“He bit you Jim”

“He hardly touched me” Jim scoffed, being pulling up short as Leonard gripped his arm painfully, his look hard. “He's a vampire Bones, I guess that’s what we do”

“Scott’s here” Hikaru yelled, his relief clear.  Jim himself breathes a sigh of relief, shaking of Leonard’s grip as Scotty and two other cars went hurtling past them.

“We need to get Spock back now, he needs blood”

“On it” Hikaru groaned, Jim was distressed to note that blood had seeped into the back of Spock’s seat cushioning.  They were all in a bad way, now that the action had finished Jim finally took a moment to take stock of his own body.  He had several bullet holes and cuts, the pain of them radiating fire through his system.

“I feel like swiss cheese”

Jim looked over when Bones grunted, he was still digging into his shoulder, trying to get his slippery hands to grip into an embedded bullet. 

“Stop, we need to wait till I can get to it with some proper tools”

“I fucking hate bullets” Leonard grumbled, allowing Jim to pull his hands away from his abused flesh. 

Jim could appreciate that, in a way it was worse than when he was human, the bullets that hadn’t made a straight shot through his body were worse.  He could feel them, pressing against every nerve, grating against his torn flesh, embedding themselves into his muscle. 

“We are almost there” Hikaru groaned through clenched teeth. 

Jim thanked him, neglecting to release Leonard’s hand from where he had pulled it away from his shoulder.  Instead he watched as the blood slowly seeped from his body with a detached sort or fascination.  The realization that if they had been human they would probably all be dead by now brought Jim up short.  Thinking about it further, if Jim hadn’t of snuck in the knives, hadn’t have brought attention to the fact that it was a trap.  They would also be dead.  Squeezing Leonard’s hand, wincing at the slip and slide of blood he closed his eyes and took a breath, they had a lot to do. 


	13. Irresolute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All mistakes are my own, the characters are not.  
> As promised, the next chapter. My life is about to get insane again but I will try to update when possible. Thank you for your support, I love hearing from you :)

Aside from Nyota quietly asking Spock questions and talking with Scotty on the phone, the drive back to the mansion was silent.  It seemed the extra numbers had done the trick, they fled and Scotty was on his way back as well, in considerably better condition than them.  Also in much better condition than the car, Jim winced in sympathy as he carefully exited the vehicle, it was a mess.  Still, no one said a word as they all moved inside.  Jim moved towards the kitchen but Nyota shook her head and dragged him into one of the small lounges, where humans were milling around, doing whatever it was the humans did here until they were needed.  Jim felt him stomach turn and looked towards Leonard, hoping this wasn’t what he thought it was.

Leonard just rolled his eyes “Jim, your injured… you need fresh blood, real blood if you’re going to heal properly”

“No” Jim shook his head, backing up a step

Leonard sighed, running a bloody hand down his bloody face and Jim realized the site they must all make.  Looking into the room he could see fear in many eyes, curiosity in others. “Jim, your control is fine, I’ll make sure you don’t hurt anyone”

“Like you care”

Nyota’s sharp gaze snapped to Jim then “Jim, that’s not fair.  He’s right, you need to drink”

“Like hell I do, I just need the bagged blood”

“That blood is mostly synthetic, it won’t heal you, not the amount you need healing” Nyota, shook her head as she carefully helped Spock down into one of the chairs.  Next to them Hikaru was flopping down with a pained grunt, his leg was a mess but he seemed to have missed all of the bullets. 

“Jim for once… just do as your told” Leonard sounded tired, resigned, but Jim could feel the worry permeate the air between them. 

“No”  Jim turned to leave the room, sickened by the way the humans were watching, no doubt waiting to be summoned.  Hissing, he spun around as a hand gripped his damaged shoulder, pulling him back into the room.  “Get off me Bones.  You can’t tell me what to do and just expect me to do it, no questions asked”

Leonard scoffed “Well that’s obvious”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean Jim, I told you to observe”

“Which I did, until I saw we were being fed to the god damn wolves” Jim pushed at Leonard, trying to turn once again, but this time Leonard stepped in front of him.

“That wasn’t your decision to make!”

Jim flinched, but refused to back down “Who’s was it then? Because no one else seemed to be making it”

“Your too young to be making these kinds of decisions Jim”

“Too young? What would have happened if I didn’t say anything, Huh Bones? What then?”

Leonard’s eyes flashed dangerously “What would have happened if you were wrong?”

Jim paused at that, shifting awkwardly, avoiding the curious glances of the others.  “I trust my instincts, Bones, I have to”

“Do you? Did you trust them when everyone under your command was killed Jim?  Because it sure as shit looks to me that when your instincts are wrong it’s not you that ends up paying for it but everyone around you”

Jim stumbled back “How… how did you find out about that?”

“Do you think we didn’t research you, before recruiting you Jim?  We knew you were a wild card but we decided we needed something drastic”

Jim laughed humorlessly, running a shaky hand through his hair “This not what you had in mind then?”

“No” The simple word hit Jim harder than the others, he stood for a moment, his chest cracking slightly.  The confidence he had been steadily rebuilding over the weeks here crumbling.

“Fine, that’s fine.  Look, this doesn’t change my mind.  I’m not going to feed off anyone so… whatever happens, happens I guess.  At least that will solve some of your problems Bones” With that Jim left, throwing one last glance at the others shocked faces as he headed out.  He didn’t have a clear idea of where he was going, just that he needed out of that room. 

                                                                                                                --

“Leonard… what was that?” Nyota’s soft voice broke through the pounding in Leonard’s ears and he snapped his head towards her. 

“It was none of your business”

“Nyota is correct, that seemed overly harsh given the circumstances”

“The circumstances Spock? The circumstances are, he was a reckless idiot and almost got us all killed! Including himself!”

“No. The circumstances are that we were saved from an ambush, a trap we willingly walked into.  A trap we had very little hope of surviving.  A trap that if successful would most assuredly have meant to end to this coven.  Which due to the circumstances of Nero and Harrison would quite possibly have meant an end to this city, at least that of its human inhabitants”

“Spock’s right Leonard, I think you really hurt him”

“He can’t be so reckless and just expect everyone to accept his good luck as good leadership” Leonard bit back, sitting down heavily, his head starting to spin.  With a start he realized Jim had blocked his end of the bond.  They had been keeping it open for so long that he found himself reeling inside his own head, looking for something to hold on to.  He chose to blame it on the blood loss.

 Hikaru spoke up then, his voice tense through the pain “He planned this Leonard, he knew something wasn’t right but no one would listen to him.  He planned for the worst because he believed there was a good chance it would happen and he was right.  He wasn’t trying to start trouble, he was trying to keep us alive”

Leonard took a breath and then three more before he realized they were right, he had let emotions get in the way.  Again.  Sighing he stood up  “You’re right.  I’ll go talk to him”

“No” Nyota stood coming over to Leonard, physically pushing him back down into his seat “You stay here, rest, drink.  He won’t want to see you now anyway.  I’ll get Gaila”

Leonard’s knee-jerk reaction was to disagree but she was right, Gaila had a way of talking to Jim, an understanding that Leonard lacked.  She was more human than he would ever be again.  “Fine… just, tell him I’m sorry”

Nyota nodded and quickly left the room

                                                                                                --

Jim was in his shower, watching as blood fell from his body to circle the drain.  He could feel himself starting to run out of energy, he kept expecting his limbs to start shaking, and instead he just felt tired, weak.   Part of him was wondering if he would wake again if he were to sleep, he had read that was a possibility for injured vampires.  Still he wasn’t sure if he cared at the current moment.  He knew, he did, that what had happened in the past with his men had been a terrible accident.  Horrific, but they had all known the risks going in, he had made it clear that he didn’t expect them to join him.  They had still saved hundreds of civilians that day, he liked to think, on his good days, that his men would think had been worth it.  He also liked to think on his good days that it had been worth, but that never lasted long.  The fact that Leonard knew, knew what he had done was sickening to Jim.  He felt laid bare, exposed.  No wonder he wanted nothing to do with him.  Watching the last of the blood drain away Jim turned off the water and dried himself off, quickly chucking on a pair of jeans.  He didn’t need comfort to sleep these days and he liked to be prepared for anything If he was woken up during the day, especially now.  He was contemplating putting a pair of shoes on as well when he heard a small noise from his bedroom.  Frowning he exited the bathroom and came face to face with a softly smiling Gaila.

“Hey sweetie, Nyota was under the impression that you were about to head for the hills, and for good reason”

Jim smiled, feeling himself relax a small amount “No, I wouldn’t leave, especially not now.  I just needed to get away” Jim frowned smelling something else in the room, looking past Gaila he raised his eyebrows at a young blonde woman seated on his bed.  “Ahh… hello?”

“Hi Jim, I’m Carol”

“Jim” Gaila cut in “before you say anything this is Carol, my girlfriend”

Jim’s eyes reached his hairline “Your girlfriend?”

“Yes Jim”

“You date humans” Jim asked, shock evident on his face

“I'm right here!” Carol piped up from the bed

“Sorry… er Carol, I just didn’t know, the books I read said that…”

“the books you read are right” Gaila responded, dragging Jim over, closer to the bed “usually vampires date within their own kind.  Most of us are fixated on the idea of finding a mate.  For some reason that never happened to me and quite honestly Jim,  I prefer humans” at Jim’s questioning glance she rolled her eyes and sat beside Carol, looking at her with obvious love in her eyes “Vampires, after a time… they don’t think the same.  They don’t cherish life, when life is just one giant never-ending struggle as is so often the case for us… they just don’t… it’s different.  While I’m with her I can almost remember what it was like to really live.  She makes this existence worth living”

“Oh” Jim stumbled over something to say, weariness sweeping over him.

“But Jim, that’s not why we’re here”

“Yeah I figured, as nice as it is to meet you Carol” Jim smiled weakly

Gaila ignored him, continuing on “I’m here because after you and Leonard’s spat, he says he’s sorry by the way,  but I’m…”

Jim rolled his eyes, doubting that completely “A spat? Really? Is that what we’re calling it?”

“Yes Jim, just a spat.  You're both stubborn, he knows you did the right thing you just scared him.  Now, moving past that it was also mentioned that you’re refusing to feed.  I don’t blame you really, I’m  mostly a bagged blood girl myself now.  You’re right, most of the humans that come here are… nothing short of drug addicts really.  I have brought it up before but… It is hard to change ingrained traditions like this and frankly I am just glad they’ve stopped killing humans”

Jim frowned… lost for words “but you’ve killed humans before?”

“It has been a very long time Jim” Gala’s glare was harsh “What I am saying is, you need fresh blood.  Carol isn’t one of the minions downstairs and she offered.  She wants to help, she knows I’m fond of you”

“I…”

“Jim, please.  You know the coven needs you, if you haven’t noticed, no one really knows what they’re doing”

Jim huffed out a laugh and sat down on the bed, the lethargy weighing him down, looking at his chest he could see he was still bleeding, if sluggishly.  Looking at Carol’s smiling face broke down any resistance he had left.  “Yeah, okay, if you’re sure you don’t mind Carol?”

“I’m sure, it’s not something I do often and when I do it’s only for Gaila, but like I said, I want to help” 

Jim still hesitated but she looked genuine “Okay… how do I” Jim shuffled nervously.

“Here” Gaila sat up and came to kneel behind him on the bed “this way I will be able to pull you back if you get out of hand, or if you start to take too much.  But I think you’ll be fine, unlike Leonard you have spectacular control”

“I’m going to straddle you Jim” Jim’s eyes widened at the blunt statement but Carol only shrugged “It’s just the best way and I will be able to jump off… hopefully, if things, like Gaila said, get crazy”

“Err… okay” Jim nodded, quite distracted.  He wasn’t exactly sure that he would be agreeing to this if he were 100 percent awake but as it stood now he could smell Carol, it wasn’t like the humans downstairs.  The smell of lust and desperation was absent, just calm and perhaps a small amount of anxiousness but regardless it didn’t make his stomach curl with disgust like the others.  Jim felt himself relax back against Gaila, his eyes flicking to Carol’s wrist.  “Can’t I just… from your wrist?”

“No Jim, there’s too much potential for damage there… especially, well Gaila said” Here Carol looked up at Gaila awkwardly while swinging herself into Jim’s lap.

Gaila sighed “You will probably bite quite deep, it’s your first time feeding on a human so it will be pretty overwhelming at first.  Especially because of your injury”

 “I don’t want to hurt you” Jim gulped, looking up at Carol as she brushed her hair to the side

“I’ve had a worse hot shot, come on then.  Let’s get this over with so you can start to heal”

Jim baulked on impulse as Carol leant forward, leaning back harder against Gaila who shoved him back again.  With a grunt he found his mouth hovering over her neck.  Taking a breath he gasped at the smell, falling forward that extra inch until his lips rested against her skin.  Shuddering he allowed the smell of blood to permeate his senses, for once trying not to shy away from it.

He felt Carol’s neck press even closer to his lips as she gripped the back of his head and pulled impatiently “Dude… if you don’t bite me soon this is going to get really awkward, really quick”

If he wasn’t so distracted he would have laughed, as it was it was taking all his concentration not to rip into her skin.  Shaking with the effort Jim opened his mouth and ever so slowly sunk his fangs into her skin.  Carol gasped and Jim clutched her to him tighter, his grip on her sides tightening.  When the blood slowly trickled into his mouth Jim groaned, pulling desperately, refusing to bite any harder.

“I won’t break Jim, I signed up to feed you, not for you to give me a hickey”

Jim relented, allowing his teeth to sink in further.  Groaning he allowed the blood to flood his mouth, swallowing desperately, not willing to allow any of it to go to waste.  He could taste her, something that was missing from drinking bagged blood, he could taste _her_.  Taste her concern, her urge to give comfort.  Instead of going into a feeding frenzy like Jim had feared, like he had read about, he found drinking from Carol was soothing, comforting.  He felt her hands run through his hair gently and he leant into it, his pulls on her neck gradually slowing, the desperation leaving him.  After a time, Jim had lost track, he felt Gaila tap his shoulder and he pulled away easily, instinctually licking her neck until the blood ceased to flow.  Sitting up he found himself leaning back into Gaila, his limbs heavy.

“Oh… well that’s just adorable”

“Someone’s blood drunk”

Jim didn’t know who spoke what, finding more interest in not moving.

“Jim, honey, I have to get the bullet out of your shoulder.  Do you have one lodged in your side as well?”

Jim could feel Gaila shifting him around trying to get at the wound but he didn’t feel inclined to move to help her. “Yup, sure do, two I think…”

Gaila sighed and Jim felt her shift, taking something off the table “You okay Carol?”

“Yeah fine, a little light headed, nothing unexpected”

“Can you try and grab the one in his side, I’ll go for the shoulder”

“On it”

Jim groaned as he felt them both prodding around, but it felt muted, far away.  It was the first time the unrelenting awareness of his body had settled into something close to what it felt to be human.  He lost track of time as they slowly worked the metal from his body, he allowed himself to drift.

“Done”

“Yeah me too”

“Do we need to stitch him up?”

“No, his body will take care of that now he’s not being an idiot”

“Hey…” Jim complained, rolling onto his side and off Gaila’s lap, he hadn’t been aware he had even been on it, his chest hit the mattress with a soft thump.

“Hey nothing, you were being stubborn”

“For good reason” Jim complained, trying to get comfortable.

Gaila smiled down at him “I agree with you there Jim”

“Thank you Carol” Jim muttered

“It wasn’t a problem Jim, trust me.  It was lovely to meet you”

Jim laughed lazily turning towards her “Perhaps I could see you again? Under more normal circumstances?”

“That would be wonderful Jim”

Jim smiled, slowly feeling the awareness of his body return, his lethargy lifting quickly.

“Jim, we are going to leave now, let you rest, recover”

“Alright, thanks, both of you” Jim watched as they made their way out of the room, he tried not to look at the bite mark on Carol’s neck.   Closing his eyes he allowed himself to drift, thinking out everything that had happened at the meeting, what he could have done differently.  Trying to work out how they could effectively use their limited manpower to defend themselves while they come up with a viable attack strategy.  More importantly, the impact that Nero and Harrison would have now that they were working together.  He needed to get into the main office, adjust the maps, with a sigh he rolled to the side but fell back when he felt his skin stitching itself back together.  Eyes wide, he watched as his wounds slowly, very slowly but noticeable if he watched carefully, stitched themselves back together.

                                                                                                --

Leonard frowned, he was back in his rooms, his wounds slowly healing.  He was finding it impossible to relax, thoughts of his… the argument with Jim filtering through his head.  He had managed to avoid the kid for weeks, yet in one night he had managed to attack him physically and verbally.  Seeing another vampire that close to Jim had snapped any restraint he had left.  The unfinished bond had been a constant presence, demanding and desperate.  At times it was nothing short of screaming inside his head.  Now though? Now it was silent and Leonard couldn’t decide which was worse.  Reaching a hand to his lips, he tried to forget the feel of Jim’s. Now that the bond had been blocked Leonard was forced to admit how much he had come to rely on it, he felt empty without the connection to Jim.  The broken bond of his maker grating on his senses. He hadn’t looked for his makers bond in years, he had learned to avoid the jagged edges of it but in his subconscious and unrelenting search for Jim in his mind he found himself brushing up against the pain of the broken bond repeatedly.  It made the situation all the more unbearable. 

He understood he had been in the wrong, but accepting anything else do to with the bond went against everything he believed in.  He was old, he could tell what was instinctual and what was emotional, yet he barely had a hold on his instincts and that was getting worse every day.  Emotions though? Leonard sighed, rubbing at his temples.  It had been such a long time since he had allowed himself to feel, to truly dive into any kind of emotion.  He was drawn to Jim, he couldn’t deny it, and he wanted to spend time with him, to get to know him.  He was as intriguing as he was frustrating.  Leonard knew that had nothing to do with the bond, a bond that Leonard was forced to finally admit he couldn’t get rid of.  The hooks were too deep, it wasn't finalized, but it was strong.  Leonard shuddered, there was no escaping it, what was worse was that Jim was uncontrollable, he took risks, he was still so… human.  Leonard couldn’t see that changing if he was honest with himself.  He had made the transition from human to vampire too smoothly.  He couldn’t see Jim turning into the overly cautious vampires that he had known, guarding their immortality with viciousness.  He would be constantly in fear of the kids safety, but there was something else, the emotions that Jim brought out in him, his presence through the bond and in his life had lifted a veil.  It had been many years since Leonard had felt truly present in any one moment.  Even battles were second nature to him, he could spend days, weeks drifting in his own thoughts until eventually he would go to ground.  Now? Going to ground had never been further from his mind, regardless of what he had told Jim.  But he couldn’t finalize the bond either, it still felt like a death sentence. 

Standing Leonard started to pace, frustration building at his predicament until he felt the bond waver, the abrupt reminder of its presence caused Leonard to tug at his hair, he had to do something.  Moving to the bathroom he ignored the stretch and pull off his healing skin, he was more than used to it.  Instead he focused on the item he had neglected to move from the bathroom bench.  Sighing he picked it up and ran the chain through his fingers, making a decision, he clenched them in his hand.

                                                                                --

Jim frowned when he heard a knock on his door, starting to sit up he winced, moving increased the weird feeling of his body healing.  More bizarre and disconcerting than painful “I’m not moving, whoever it is just come in” When Leonard entered raising an eyebrow Jim did sit up, refusing to wince “Look, Bones, as glad as I am to see you looking better, I don’t really want to _see_ you right now, not in the mood for a lecture”

“I came to apologize Jim”

Jim smiled, leaning back again “Well then, go ahead”

“Look Jim, I have seen what mating does to people.  It’s worse than death”

Jim raised an eyebrow, apparently they were discussing that then.  _Again_.  Frowning at Leonard’s ability to give him whiplash he never the less threw up his usual argument “If one of them dies”

“As demonstrated today neither of us are in a situation where life is guaranteed… I” Leonard paused looking like he wanted to bolt out the door “I thought it would be better to try and find a way out of this”

Jim sighed, completely over this dance the two of them had been doing “Bones there is no way out I don’t know why you… wait… thought?”

“I’m not happy with it Jim but… this limbo? It’s putting both of us at risk, maybe… maybe we could try” 

Jim could feel his mouth falling open, the raw skin on his chin stretching “Try what?”

“Jesus… maybe we could try to” Leonard trailed off, his face painfully awkward “Not mate, not yet.  I won’t, I can't.  No. What I’m saying is maybe we could see if we… fit”

Jim sat up, wincing “Fit?” He had no idea what Leonard meant and hearing that he had no intention to mate at this point was more frustrating than hurtful.  He had run out emotions to put into today. 

“Yes Jim, fit”

 Jim smirked, flicking his eyes down Leonard’s body “I’m pretty sure you will fit, I mean… from what I’ve felt your big but I mean..” he may be tired but he wasn’t tired enough not to use an opening like that

“Jim!” Leonard was rubbing at his forehead        

Jim shook his head, tired of the conversation “I still haven’t heard an apology Bones” Jim watched wearily as Leonard approached the bed, sitting down heavily beside him, his back turned to him as Jim continued to lay in a sprawl.

“Jim, what I said today was bullshit, you know that, I know that.  You saved us today and… you were a good Captain.  You don’t need me to tell you that, your record proves that you were effective, smart, and innovative”

“Gee when you apologize you really go all out huh?” But Jim was grinning, he couldn’t help it

“Apparently, here” Jim starred as Leonard held out his hand to Jim, still facing away.  His worn and dented dog tags hanging from his hands “You shouldn’t forget where you came from Jim, it's part of who you are”

“Maybe I wanted to leave the old me behind”

“Jim, I left who I used to be behind, all that was left when I did that was a monster.  I don’t want that for you”

“you're not a monster Bones, what I said… in the training room.  You have to know I didn’t mean it”

“You were right though”

“No… I wasn’t” Jim reached out and took the dog tags “Look, I’ll take these, accept my past… if you make an effort to remember yours.  I want to meet the real you”

There was a long pause, where Jim watched Leonard’s shoulders for any kind of sign that he was still there “I can try”

“That’s all I ask” Jim breathed out in relief “Look, we’re both exhausted.  This healing business is weird as shit”

“You will get used to it, in time”

“I’m not sure this is something I want to get used to… but could you, are you saying you could get used to me?”

“Jim… I am already used to you.  I know I’m stopping something from completing that is already impossible to remove… But”

“I get it Bones, really I do, I haven’t seen what you have seen, I realize that” Jim toyed with his dog days, reluctant to actually put them around his neck.

“When these things end its…” Leonard sounded defeated to Jim and he hesitated, his hand

“Everything has to end Bones”

“Not when you’re a vampire”

“So you’re saying you would rather live… like you have been… forever”

Leonard turned towards Jim finally, his eyes sad “I don’t know…”

“Where does that leave us then?”

Leonard sighed “back in limbo”

“Bones… I’m not saying I’m worth it, I know I'm not.  But the way I see it, we don’t have another option here”

“Jim all I have known is violence, for so long.  I don’t even know if I can be with anyone else, not without destroying them”

“Hey, Its not like I’m an expert” Jim tried to smile but fell short, glancing away. Silence descended between them then before Jim finally met Leonard’s intense gaze.  Sitting up he faced him more fully “What is the bond telling you to do” Jim knew all to well that its demands were very specific and overwhelming

“I…” Jim watched as Leonard looked away before his face hardened “It wants me to take you… mark you as mine, demand the same in return… it's always there, the feeling”

Jim gulped, ignoring his body lest it betrayed him “and what do you want Bones”

The silence was a long one and Jim found himself holding his breath.  Finally Leonard answered, his voice scratchy “I don’t want to end up like my maker, like countless others I have seen with broken bonds”

“Yes, I know but what do you want Bones.  You have only ever told me what you fear, tell me what you want”

Leonard stood fast, startling Jim, his eyes wide, looking up at Leonard “I want you… is that what you want to hear Jim.  You are constantly on my mind, you’re infuriating, I want to punch you, scream at you, kiss you… fuck you”

Jim ignored Leonard’s anger instead softening his voice “are you lonely Leonard? Ossa?”

Jim watched as Leonard spun away from him breathing hard “Yes, I think I had forgotten, until I met you.  It was such a constant presence in my life, loneliness”

Jim stood, ignoring his bodies complaints he placed a carefull hand on his shoulder “Bones? Let me help you? This isn’t a life your living… just let me” Jim held his breath as Leonard slowly turned to face him but avoided his eyes.  Unperturbed Jim just tilted his chin towards him and gently placed his lips over Leonard’s.  Carefully Jim moved his lips over those of Leonard’s, breathing out with relief at being so close, he felt his shields tremble and fall.  Groaning as Leonards fear, desire, confusion and desperation washed over him at once, as no doubt his own emotions were washing over Leonard.  Feeling Leonard gasp and fall more firmly against him just took the opportunity to lick gently into his mouth.  It was electric and Jim moaned, pressing harder into Leonard, gasping in encouragement when he tilted his head, the improved angle allowing Jim to tangle his tongue with Leonard’s.  But it was only a moment before Leonard was pulling away, Jim groaned but allowed it, catching Leonard’s lip between his teeth as he went, biting softly.  Both of them breathing hard as their foreheads remained pressed together.

“I have to go” Leonard murmured and Jim could feel his control hanging by a thread, he knew he could push, cause Leonard to snap with minimum effort.  But… He couldn’t.  Sighing he nodded against him, taking the opportunity to breathe him in.

“yeah, okay… but I'm here okay? I'm not going anywhere just… don’t disappear”

“Jim…” Jim waited for Leonard to say something anything, tell him that he would be here as well, let him know in some way that he wouldn’t leave.  Instead he felt the distress through the bond and then Leonard was turning to leave.  He looked back once, hesitated then gave a small sad smile before closing the door softly.

 Jim let out a frustrated noise and fell back onto the bed  “When did this become my life?” He asked the patterns on his roof.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am on tumblr under the same name if anyone wants to chat.


	14. Reparative

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors note: As my chapter titles continue to get stranger I thought I should perhaps start explaining them. Here I am referring to the ‘reparative phase’ in bone healing. A friend of mine is studying nursing at the moment and I am helping her study. I felt like this was appropriate if not completely ostentatious lol  
> In case anyone is interested ~ Elan Vital: the vital force or impulse of life; especially : a creative principle held by Bergson to be immanent in all organisms and responsible for evolution.  
> Because I didn’t want to call it Vampire Porn in Mega-City One :P   
> All mistakes are my own.

It had been a week and despite best intentions Jim had hardly seen Leonard except for in rushed and high-stress meetings.  He was busy trying to re-organize the coven, trying to prepare for the shit he knew was about to hit the fan.  Thankfully Leonard and Spock had dealt with the government, who had allowed them to recruit humans into help them.  They had also convinced them of Harrison’s betrayal, it had taken some time but after seeing that Harrison and Nero had shut down their borders, allowing no access, it became clear.  So that left Jim and Gaila in the middle of nowhere, outside a non-descript warehouse, standing in front of over twenty recruits.  Jim’s eyes flashing to Gaila who only smiled placidly in encouragement.  Taking a breath he stepped forward.

“Those of you who are here, are here because you are out of a job, or homeless, you’re desperate.  Most have a background in the forces or have criminal records.  Most come from the outskirts of the city, some from over the wall.  You know we pay well but you don’t know much else.  This is what you need to know”  Jim held up five fingers, dropping them as he listed off the items “One, you will be fighting vampires, two yes I am serious, three you are fighting for the survival of the city as you know it, four we cannot guarantee your survival and last but not least no, we do not plan on turning any of you”  Jim gave the group a minute to take it all in before he continued “If you wish to leave, then do so now. This will be your only chance.  If you wish to leave after this you will have to stay with us until it is done.  This information cannot get out to the public.” He paused a moment allowing his words to sink in, watched their faces.  When he felt the group had mostly settled from the shock he spoke up once again  “So what say you?”  Jim smirked with satisfaction as the men looked nervously at one another but not a single one moved to leave.  He knew how to pick them. 

“Right, follow me then” Jim took them through the rusty doors, doors that Jim had taken over thirty other men and women through in the past week.  Here in this warehouse was where he explained the weapons they were manufacturing and explained the situation, watching as their faces truly realized what he was proposing.  He would then turn them over to Hikaru and his team for training.  This was the third time he had done this, he expected to do it at least twice more.  Spock was under the impression that he was being too fussy with the people he recruited, but Spock was under the impression he was recruiting cannon fodder.  Spock’s faith in humanity had long ago been dashed, but, no that was the last thing he was recruiting. In fact  It was what he was trying to avoid, if the forces intervened he knew without a doubt that they could end them all.  Harrison was absurdly optimistic as far as Jim was concerned, if he knew the things Jim did, he never would have started this.  No, the humans could wipe them all out with nothing more than the press of a button but the human casualties would be immense.  He felt a sickening sense of déjà vu and yet he couldn’t help but try and prevent that, along with the destruction of a coven he had come to call his own. Turning to Gaila, as the men walked over to Hikaru, he tried to smile.

                                                                                                --

When Jim and Gaila arrived back at the house Leonard was there to greet them, Jim frowned at the unusual development, trading a confused glance with Gaila who shrugged. 

“Can I have a word Jim?” Leonard grumbled, shooting daggers at Gaila.  The pair clearly having a silent conversation.

Jim raised his eyebrows, but found himself nodding all the same “Yeah Course, but I have that meeting…” Jim found himself look at Gaila once more who smirked and shook her head

“You’ve got time Jim, I’ll make sure they don’t start without you” with that Gaila moved inside, clutching at Leonard’s shoulder on her way past and shooting him a significant look.  Jim watched with curiosity as Leonard shifted and nodded slightly, his chin down.  Trying to shake off the awkwardness Jim leaned back against the car, taking a moment to glance up at where he knew the stars were.  He missed them, but the light pollution would ensure he wouldn’t see them as long as he stayed inside the city walls.  With a sigh he looked back towards Leonard as he took a few more steps towards him, Jim could feel him approaching, his skin tingled with the knowledge of his presence, and for a moment, he let himself indulge in the feeling, closing his eyes.

When he finally spoke it was with a sigh born from his exhaustion rather than his frustration at Leonard “What is it Bones?”

“I wanted to see you”

“Oh?” Jim resisted the urge to snap, to ask where he had been, he knew it hadn’t just been Leonard’s fault this time.

“It’s getting worse” Leonard continued and Jim gasped softly as he felt him come to stand even closer, his scent washing over him.  It was a strange feeling, some fundamental part of him settling at having Leonard so close, but another rising to greet him, stripping him of control.  

Jim let out a husky laugh, biting his lip “Yeah, yeah it is.  You gonna do something about it?”

“We haven’t had a chance to talk much”

Jim was pleased to note the catch in Leonard’s voice “whose fault is that?”

“I’m not the only one that hasn’t been around Jim”

“Are we going fight? Or did you have something to say” Jim pushed away from the car, reluctantly opening his eyes.  With a shock he found himself a hairs breath away from Leonard’s face, a soft smile lighting up his face.  Jim stared, his mouth falling open in shock. “You’re smiling” Jim regretted it instantly as he watched the smile slipped away.

“You…” Leonard sighed, and Jim screamed internally as he took a step back “I wanted to ask if I could see you, talk to you, after these meetings”

“You ahhh…” Jim struggled to find the words “You couldn’t have asked me that after the meeting?”

“You have a tendency to slip away”

Jim rubbed the back of his neck, guilt swirling in his stomach “yeah, it’s been pretty crazy I..”

“You don’t need to apologize Jim”

“Yeah… okay”

“We should go” Leonard eventually cut the awkward silence off, his eyes meeting Jim’s once again and he wanted to scream in frustration.  Everything driving him towards this contradiction of a creature.

“Right okay” Jim made himself push away from the car, past Leonard and into the building.

                                                                                ---

To his surprise Leonard had seated himself next to Jim in the meeting room, their knees a point of contact that insisted on drawing his attention.  They were here to meet with Annika, she was a member of a smaller coven from outside the wall.  They were neutral in this war that was yet to begin and Jim was seeking to change that.  They were also known to be aligned with Jean-Luc's clan and if making nice with Annika resulted in opening a door for negotiation with covens in other cities, powerful covens,  then all the better.  With this in mind Jim drew his mind and body away from Leonard and sat a bit straighter.  She was intelligent, fiercely so, it hadn’t taken Jim long to work that out, she was also surprisingly reasonable but reluctant to commit to anything that could endanger her coven.  Her voice was strong, but she wavered enough that Jim knew she was concerned.

“My presence here alone is enough to warrant an attack.  Harrison is already seeking support, he is naming your coven betrayers, supporters of humans and killers of your own kind.  He is saying you plan to wipe us from the earth”

“You know that isn’t true” Jim ran a hand down his face in frustration. 

Annika frowned and gestured to the doors “I know you have humans here that are more than… guests”

Jim stiffened at the words, no one was happy with the humans staying here “We seek allies where we can”

“You ally with those that seek to destroy us”

“It is Harrison that wants us destroyed, we are at peace with the forces of humans.  The humans that are here are in no way connected to their government”

“The peace between human and vampire is tenuous as best” Annika debated, her hand's clenching.

“You don’t think Harrison’s actions will destroy that? Destroy everything?” Jim barked back beginning to lose patience, they were going around in circles.

“He seeks a world run by vampires not humans, we are stronger.  There are times when I wonder how we were reduced to this” Annika’s response was quiet but loaded with pain.

Jim felt the rage a second too late and Leonard was standing, his voice echoing itself in his mind “Because we are monsters!”

“Bones..”

“No Jim! Do you know what would happen? If vampires were to rule? Blood chaos, there would be no order.  Strength, immortality, power?” Leonard shook his head  “We would destroy the world”

Annika had stood now as well, to face Leonard head on, her chin tipped high “and what have the humans done?  Have you left this city recently? We are living in a world fighting back from what they have done to it.  War, famine, disease it runs rampant outside the city walls”

It was Nyota who stood then, calming arms begging them both to sit “Please, let’s all calm down.  Annika I understand.  I too remember how beautiful the world was and I wept as it was destroyed.  But the humans? They have learned, yes they still make mistakes.  But they learn, they grow they change.  Each generation better than the last.  Vampires? You know we do not, progress cannot be made in this world with our kind.  We would sap this world of its remaining resources and we would starve.  This world is for the living Annika, not those that bring death”

Jim watched as Leonard and Annika reluctantly took their seats before speaking again “We have been fostering the humans trust, they have been accepting our council, if reluctantly.  If we don’t stop Harrison all that work will have been for nothing.  We will lose our place in this world, lose their wavering acceptance.  This is our mess, we have to clean it up”

“You make many good points” Annika sat back in her chair, her eyes roving over Jim thoughtfully

It was Spock who spoke then his voice broke the silence “You have three options.  One, you support Harrison, the results of this if Harrison succeeds will lead to a war against humans.  If you win or succeed, it does not matter.  The world and all those in it will suffer from Harrison’s actions, it is inevitable.  Two you remain neutral, if Harrison wins he will take you out.  As you remained neutral he will consider you a threat. If we succeed, then nothing will change but your chances of ever entering the city in a permanent fashion will severely decline.  Three you join us, if we lose you will be destroyed, but if we are successful we guarantee you and your coven a place here within our walls.  You would be protected”

Annika’s eyes were wide “You have that power?”

“It has been negotiated and yes we do”

“What proof do I have of this”

“Our word” Gaila this time, her eyes a piercing promise.

“Annika?” Jim asked, his voice soft “If Harrison wins, the humans will destroy him and all of our kind.  I have seen what they can do and they will kill anyone that stands in their way”

Silence descended over the room until Annika finally stood, clearly gathering herself, but her expression remained neutral “Very well.  I will take this information back to my coven.  You will have our answer in two days”

Jim nodded, standing as Annika moved for the door, she was a woman of action Jim had discovered.  Now that she had the information she required she would waste no time in leaving.  As Jim saw her out the door he could feel several eyes on his back.  Turning back around he rested his arms on the table and waited for the questions to begin.  It didn’t take long.

“Jim, we can’t keep accommodating your humans here.  They are scared as all shit and it’s unsettling the coven.  I can’t be expected to control forty plus vampires sniffing after fresh blood”

Leonard huffed out an amused breath, shooting a look at Hikaru “Let me talk to them, they will stop sniffing soon enough” Jim warmed as Leonard supported him and he subconsciously found himself leaning closer to Leonard.

“Very well” Hikaru agreed, but sounded reluctant, Jim sighed

“They must stay here, I can’t risk them being taken by Harrisons men.  They know too much now.  I am sorry Hikaru but we don’t have the numbers to be defending any of the safe houses at the moment.  Not with the threat over our heads.  Harrison could strike at any time” At Hikaru’s nod Jim relaxed but tensed as he heard Spock clear his voice next to him.  Turning towards the other man he prepared himself for the inevitable debate.

“Jim I have contacted several other covens, most from outside the wall but there has been interesting from other cities as well.  Some are willing to meet… shall I go ahead and set up the meetings”

Jim froze, his breath coming quicker from habit.  He stared at Spock who did nothing but raise his eyebrow “You’re asking me?” Jim most certainly did not squeak

“I am” Such a simple reply and yet Jim could feel the words settle around him and the room, he could practically hear everyone’s gears shifting.

“Uh, yeah, of course Spock.  Whatever you need” Jim very suddenly realized he was the only one standing and flopped into his chair.  Jumping he felt a hand slide onto his leg, a calmness instantly settled onto his shoulders and Jim looked towards Leonard in thanks.  Spock’s support was surprisingly terrifying.  He could feel responsibility shifting and it wasn't as pleasant as he had imagined it would be.  Resisting the urge to clutch at Leonards' hand Jim looked up at the sound of someone clearing their throat.

“Ah, Jim… about those supplies I asked for?” Scotty’s voice broke through the remainder of his panic

“tomorrow, ah, they should arrive tomorrow Scotty” Gasping Jim, sat forward as the comfort as it was want to do these days shifted somewhere else, as did Leonard’s hand.  Desire swamped his system faster than he could process it.  Clutching the chairs arms Jim refused to acknowledge it “If you need anything else before this is over I would advise you sort it out with Chekov before you two come back here…” Jim looked at his watch and frowned, the negotiations with Annika had taken much more time than he had expected “In thirty minutes” Jim sighed at Scotty’s panicked look “go now if you want, take Hikaru with you, if there was nothing else?” Jim looked to Hikaru who shook his head, before heading out the door with Scotty

“See you soon Cap” Hikaru grinned on his way out the door

Jim  felt his stomach curl at the nickname, but settled as Leonard’s hand once again soothed him.  Looking back towards Gaila, Jim motioned for her to fill the others in on the new human recruits.  He needed a break from the sound of his own voice.  As she talked, Jim looked at Leonard,  a question in his eyes, but he merely shrugged, tightening his grip on Jim’s leg causing him to grunt softly.  Jim could feel himself hardening in his pants, pressing against his zipper he desperately wanted to shift with the discomfort, but didn't dare bring attention to himself. He could hear the others talking but it faded to the background as he felt his skin bruising under Leonard’s hands,  a reminder of Leonards grasp burnt into his skin. Breathing out harshly he tried to stop the inevitable snap of his control, closing his eyes Jim concentrated on keeping still, allowing the sensations to sweep over him but refusing to react to them.  Inevitably he lost track of time.

“Jim… JIM!” Jim gasped at the sound of his name, snapping his eyes open, he came face to face with a smirking Gaila

“We’re all leaving Jim” Her face was full of mirth as she snapped her fingers in front of his face and Jim knew he should say something but words seemed to be escaping him.  Watching in a daze Jim barely noticed Gaila ruffle his hair, what he did notice though was Leonard’s snarl and the brief sensation of colliding with something solid followed by falling and something heavy colliding with his chest.

“Umffff… Fuck” Jim breathed as the wind was knocked out of him, he struggled on the ground against the immovable mass on top of him.  He stopped his struggle though as he felt a hot mouth and stubble rasping at his neck and warm hips slot up against his own.  Jim gasped, desperately pulling Leonard closer and moaning into a kiss as Leonard licked into his mouth.   This was not the time, Jim knew that but as Leonard grabbed at Jim’s knee, lifting, and rutting against him he decided he didn’t care.  Breaking away with a gasp Jim clawed at Leonard’s back, desperately trying to remove the material “off, off, off.  I have to… nyaaa god, I have to feel you”

“Jim” Leonard’s rough voice grazed his neck and Jim shivered his head thumping back against the floor with a thump.

Jim weakly pulled at the material at Leonard’s shoulders but felt weak as sensation overwhelmed his system, his eyes rolling back in his head as Leonard manhandled him.  Leonard was Grinding against him in small sharp circles, Jim whimpering, trying to get impossibly closer “Fuck… Leonard, please”

Leonard huffed, a groan escaping his lips as he looked up Jim found he couldn't look away from his eyes “can't… they will be here soon.  Jim…”

Jim caught a wine in his throat before it could leave “I don’t think I can stop this time…. Bones, please.  This is killing me… I can’t keep doing this“

Jim felt a growl rise from his chest as Leonard lifted himself of Jim slightly, the lack of friction and pressure, caused panic to rise in Jim’s chest and he pulled him back down.  Leonard conceded, their chests pressing together once more and Jim shivered as Leonard breathed in his ear “I know, me either”

“Then do something about it” Jim’s voice echoed around the room before Jim pushed, forcing Leonard back yo so he could look him in the eye. 

He saw the defiance crumble in Leonard’s eyes and Jim tensed for his response  “Yes” he gulped, Jim watched as Leonard swallowed, fascinated, before his eyes flicked up to his lips watching him form his next words “But later”

“You mean?” Jim’s eyes widened, the realization sobering, leaning up towards him, Jim’s forehead coming to rest on Leonard’s, his hands gripping his shoulders “Are you saying?”

“Yes Jim.  After the meeting, the sooner we sort this out the better”

“you… should let go then” Jim managed to choke out, everything in him screaming in protest. His hands clutching Leonard’s shoulders.

Leonard didn’t move but Jim could feel him nodding against him “Yes”

“Bones…”

Jim froze as he heard the very distinctive sound of someone clearing their throat “Ummm… guys” it was Hikaru. Jim’s head thumped back into the floor as he grunted a noise of frustration and mortification.    

Much to Jim’s annoyance Leonard rose to his feet smoothly, straightening his jacket, meanwhile Jim took him time before stumbling to his feet, his head down. “Ahhhh, right…. Sorry”

“No… um that’s okay” Hikaru replied, smirking.  Pavel meanwhile was staring at them his eyes wide, clutching paperwork to his chest.  Scouting was grinning broadly, giving Jim two enthusiastic thumbs up, his eyebrows wiggling.

“We should… sort this out” Jim muttered and nodded at Leonard who headed for the door. Stopping he looked at Jim who froze, hands once again clutching the desk “You’ll come?” at the snigger from Scotty he rolled his eyes “to my room Jim?”

“yeah Bones”

“Good”

Jim’s hands tightened on the wood as Leonard left, he relaxed his hands only as he felt it splinter under his fingers.  He looked down surprised before realizing Hikaru, Pavel and Scotty were watching him closely.

“Look… Jim.  We want permission to start testing.  We will stay within the grounds of the property like you suggested and won't attempt anything risky until we talk to you.  We have gone over all the plans with a fine tooth comb.  Nothing will go wrong” Jim scowled at Hikaru and his smug expression.

“He’s right Jim” Scotty spoke up “go on with ye, I’ll email you a list of what we need”

“Everything is in order Jim”

Jim looked at Pavel and his terrified looking eyes “Okay?”

“Yes Jim!” Hikaru laughed and gestured towards the door “Go”

Jim went, he didn’t actually remember how he got to Leonard’s door but he came back to himself as he saw Leonard walking through it, watched as he turned towards Jim with surprise “Jim?”

Jim relished the opportunity to throw himself at Leonard, groaned as they collided, kicking the door shut distractedly as he backed him into the room.  His lips desperately moving over Leonard’s, biting at his lips, groaning as Leonard clutched the back of his head, his fingers pulling at his hair.  Jim shoved desperately at Leonard’s jacket, this time pulling away and grinning as it slipped to the floor.  Jim shredded his shirt with a single tug his eyes widening in surprise, looking startled at Leonard.

“Idiot” Leonard scoffed, his eyes softer than Jim could remember seeing  “come here” Jim was pulled back again, sliding against Leonard as their lips met, teeth clashing in their desperation, tongues curling together. 

Jim broke away again when Leonard pulled his top over his head, it was too much, he was too far away and broken noises exited his throat without his permission “Please”

“shhh” Leonard shoved and Jim willingly fell back as his legs hit the bed

Leonard followed, his eyes dangerous “Jim”

“I’m sure” Jim pre-empted his questions, desperation coursing through him, bearing his neck on impulse as his body started to tremble “Fuck, Bones, I’m sure”

“No… I” Jim watched as Leonard frowned before groaning and falling on top of Jim who gasped as their bare chests came together.  Over sensitive and desperate. 

“God, I … please” Jim was pulling at his shoulders, he wanted closer, he wanted everything, anything

Leonard kissed him, falling to the side, their legs tangling together but Jim paused as Leonard tipped his head to the side, pressing Jim’s lips to his neck “Take”

Jim meant to argue, ask what was happening but at those words he snarled and he was tearing into Leonard’s neck without hesitation and as his blood hit his tongue he arched, clutching Leonard tighter and rolling over him,  pushing him into the bed so he couldn’t escape.  It was nothing like feeding from Carol, not even close.  As the blood rushed into his throat Jim groaned and the world fell away, pleasure coursing through his veins, licking at his body and then… then it hit him.  Leonard, he felt… everything.  His hatred, of his kind… but mostly of himself, it clung to every particle of his being, riding into Jim from his blood, the disgust the anger.  It took over everything but after a moment Jim could feel a reluctant, shivering hope, connected to thoughts of… him.  Diving into it Jim caught it, coaxed it from the shadows, as it moved closer  he felt it surround him before he felt something shift… no… collapse and suddenly emotions Jim was sure Leonard hadn’t experienced for an age fluttered into being, warming Jim who gasped, overwhelmed.  Coming back to himself Jim saw he had pulled away from Leonard’s neck, Jim watched as the blood dripped down onto the bed, pooling morbidly on the white sheets, acting on instinct he leaned back down to lick the wound. He could feel Leonard shaking, or was that him?  He couldn't tell, running his hand through Leonard’s hair, he tried to give comfort… but he had to, fix his neck before he could… pulling away Jim looked at Leonard, he was staring at the roof, his eyes glassy.  Gently Jim mimicked Leonard’s earlier position on their sides and running on instinct he pulled Leonard to his neck, Jim groaned, Leonard’s blood still pumping through him, his limbs heavy yet out of control as they seemed to do what they wished… it wasn’t long and then Leonard was biting into Jim.  Again it was different and Jim moaned in pleasure, pulling him closer and exposing more of his neck to Leonard, his body feeling limp, open, exposed in a way he had never been before.  After a moment he could… sense Leonard, feel him.  There were no words to describe it but with every pull of blood on his neck his pleasure increased, until he was surrounded by it, was breathing it.  Losing track of time Jim could do nothing but hold on until he felt it, a pull and a snap, something internal and final, it jolted his entire body as Leonard pulled away from him gasping and licking at his neck.  Groaning Jim tried to clutch with weak shaking arms, needing to stay close.  He felt bizarrely empty. 

“B…Bones? Jim gasped as he felt Leonard collapse against him, his hands moving down to grip at his arms.

“Jim, you’re so… I can’t”

“What?”  Jim clutched Leonard tighter, as tight as he could while he was so weak, he could feel the panic thrumming through his body, blacking out his eyes for a moment, threatening to take over.

“you're so bright, like the sun.  I dragged you into this darkness” Leonard pushed himself up onto his elbows, finally looking Jim in the eyes. 

Jim frowned, concerned at the quality to Leonard’s voice, he felt out of it himself “I went willingly”

“barely”

Jim smirked and ran his hand down Leonard’s back “I’m not this person you think I am and you are not as dark as you think you are”

Jim held his breath as Leonard frowned, staring him down, his fingernails digging into his shoulders, the tension taught between them… but something had changed and before he could contemplate it fully, he felt it, the change that came with the sun, the exhaustion, heavier now than it had been before.

Leonard closed his eyes, taking a slow breath before rolling off Jim and turning away from him “Go to sleep Jim”

The sudden change and abrupt emptiness at Leonard’s absence shook Jim and he finally snapped.  He would not do this again. “You said we would finalize the bond Bones, you agreed”

“I think you will find I didn’t”

“Are we really going to do this again Bones? I’m fucking sick of it”

“Go to sleep Jim”

“I’m not leaving, fuck you”

“I’m not kicking you out, you can stay… you can stay as long as you like” Jim paused at the vulnerability coming through in his voice, turned to stare at Leonard’s bare back.

“Yeah?” he asked sidling up against Leonard and cautiously allowing one arm to fall over him, his head coming to rest in the hollow above his shoulders.  There was a long silence before Leonard let out the tension in his body with a long sigh, falling back more solidly back into Jim

“Yeah… but this doesn’t mean…”

“Shhhh” Jim hushed him dragging his teeth along his shoulder reveling in the shiver it produced from the older vampire “go to sleep”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to all of those who have read and left a kudos!!. Extra thanks to those who comment :) Words can't describe how much I love reading them x


	15. Remodelling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have quite a bit I want to say before I post this chapter, feel free to skip ahead!  
> Firstly thank you so much to those of you who offered support during all the crap that I had going on! It really meant the world, there were tears. Sorry I didn't reply to many of you, I was a nervous wreck at the time.  
> I am nervously back now although I am still in my last couple of months of my degree now. On the plus side once November is over I will have a lot of free time while I am searching for jobs. So that means writing. 
> 
> Secondly, I am sure we are all saddened and shocked with regards to Anton Yelchins death, I felt like I should mention it here. It was a terrible tragedy and my thoughts go out to his friends and family. I hope you are all taking care of yourself x.
> 
> Thirdly I have missed you all so much! I hope you are all still here. I have a Tumblr again now you can access it [here](http://xharrisii.tumblr.com/) I hope that worked... I have never inserted a link before. If it doesn't work I am on Tumblr as xharrisii :) Please come and say hello! I would love to hear from you all. My profile picture is not a picture of me ;)
> 
> Leaving my old name behind is hard. But also necessary :( 
> 
> So in short I am sorry for my minor breakdown. Here is a chapter! It has been re-written so many times O.o. I hope it turned out okay in the end. Thank you all so much for your patience. 
> 
> Love Harrisii x

The streets were almost silent, but he could hear the footsteps of the woman. Fast, the girl was fleeing. From what, he didn't know, it didn't matter. He would catch her before anything else could, he would make sure of it. Stepping out in front of her as she rounded the corner Leonard swept the distressed woman into his arms, who, to his surprise, clung to him, her hands clutching at the fabric at his shoulders.

"Help please, please! Don't let them take me back, please!"

She was young Leonard could see that now, maybe fourteen years old. Highborn, she was decorated with lavish jewels, their shine distracting to his eyes.

"Follow me" Pulling away, he kept a firm grip on her arm, but it was hardly needed, she followed willingly.   Pulling her into a dark alley he held her close and waited, the thudding footsteps running past their position in the shadows.

"Thank you, so much I..." Ossa didn't let her finish, instead pressed her back into the wall his other hand moved to cover her mouth. He took a moment to look her over, look into her eyes. They were scared, bright and so very alive. He felt nothing. Leaning down to puncture her skin, to stop her weak struggles he felt nothing. As the warmth left her body and entered his own, as her skin grew pale and her weak struggle ceased, he felt nothing.

Letting her body fall to the ground Ossa stood over her, watched as her dress moved in the wind, flickering over legs that would never walk again. He had been given many opportunities to stand over the dead in recent years, the death of soldiers, allies in arms, what the vampires called siblings and victims of his hunger such as this young woman at his feet. He had felt sorrow, horror, anguish, disgust, pride but never nothing. Lifting his bloody hand to his face, Ossa watched as the blood trailed down, staining his sleeves. He had caught glimpses of the girl's life, it was a good one, but her father had married her to someone she considered terrifying, she had grand plans of running away with her young lover who was waiting at the docks. Looking towards the ocean, Leonard frowned thinking of the boy who would be waiting, waiting forever for this girl, who was now nothing more than a corpse. Looking down at her body he knelt, looking into the girl's eyes, they were startlingly blue. Instinctually he knew he would never forget this girls face, her eyes, and her pale skin. She was innocence, youth and life and he had destroyed it and felt nothing. He contemplated taking one of her bones to carve, to mark the occasion, his decent into a soulless being. However, he couldn't bring himself to mutilate her body, leaning forward he closed her eyes and said a small prayer to the gods. Although he doubted they were listening. Turning away, he returned to his maker and his destroyer.

\--

"Shhhh" Jim pleaded Jana as she clutched desperately to his tattered shirt, what was once a teddy bear hanging limply from her arms.

"Hungry" The small girl pleaded, her eyes red and swollen under her clumped and dirty hair "Sleepy."

"I'm sorry Janie, we have to keep going" Jim begged, looking to make sure that Kevin was still following, they had been travelling for two days straight. On the outskirts of the city walls, all that were left were abandoned warehouses and small townships. They had been lucky, finding some packaged food that had kept them going; along with some small animals that Jim had skinned and cooked. Now their luck had apparently run out.

"I want to go home" Jana begged, stumbling over her own feet. Jim cursed bending down to sweep her up into shaky arms.

This time, it was Kevin who spoke, Jim was grateful until he heard his words "You don't want to go home sweetie remember what the bad man did to you?"

"Kevin!" Jim snapped as he clutched the now shaking Jana to him tightly "Shhh Janie its okay, we're safe now."

"I'm sorry…" Jim sighed relenting at the lost look on Kevin's face "We have to get closer to the centre, there is nothing left out here."

Kevin huffed, shuffling at the ground with his tattered shoes "They’ll pick us up, chuck us back into the system if we do that."

"We’ve got no choice Kevin; we'll just have to be careful."

"Can't we keep going round the outside?"

"We'll starve" Jim sighed, looking worriedly down at Jana's eyes. They looked pale, sickly.

"Maybe that's better than going back."

"Kevin..."

"You don't know what it was like after you left!" Jim turned Jana away, instinctively protecting her from the younger boy as his face turned red in his anger "You think it was better after you tried to help? After you got sent to the cubes? You know where we got sent, we were better off where we were." Jim turned away, tears threatening to spill, guilt and anger rolling in his gut.

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? You think starving is bad Jim? Try living with those demons, day in and out. You can't just break out of the cubes, get me out and then expect me to go walking back into central without a care in the world. I won't go back there!" Kevin was irate, clutching at his hair, pulling at the tatty clumps, his eyes wild with his fear.

"What's going on?"

Jim breathed a sigh of relief as he heard Cassie speak up from behind him

"Ummm, we were just discussing our options" Jim gladly handed over Jana when Cassie reached out for her, concern in her eyes.

"There’s nothing but the same for miles; I climbed the tallest building I could find, its all the same" Cassie muttered, trying to smile for Jana before looking back at Kevin "I'm sorry Kevin, we need to start heading in."

"No!"

"Shut up!" Jim yelled, he could hear, something. Oh...

"Don't tell me what to!"

"Shut the fuck up Kevin" Jim hissed, crouching low, dragging Jana and Cassie with him, and that's when he heard it again, a soft growl, Jim watched as Kevin turned pale as a sheet.

"Don't move" Jim muttered, reaching behind his back for the gun he kept there

Slowly he brought it out in front of him, weary, hesitant, and he was right to be. Slinking along the ground towards them, flicking out its tongue to taste the air was a creature Jim had never encountered before. Its red eyes were shining in the dawn light, its ribs jaunting out of its sides and it walked in a bent crouch, resting on its front claws like a gorilla might, its skin looked like scaled rock.

"Get behind me" Jim whispered as quiet as he could and winced as Kevin scrambled up to him, too quickly to stay silent. The creature immediately whipped towards them, letting out an ungodly screech.

Jim fired, didn't think twice about it just fired and kept firing as the bullets grazed of its hide like it was nothing. Panicking he took aim one last time, the last bullet they had left weighing heavily in the gun as the creature scrambled closer to them. Jim fired, it screamed as the bullet lodged in its eye. Jim had one moment of relief before the creature shook itself off and swatted at Jim sending him flailing to the side. Shouting he winced as he hit the ground but scrambled up again, jumping on the creatures back

"No!" Jim screamed hitting at it repeatedly, drawing out his small knife and trying to hack at its tough hide to no avail "Run!" Jim screamed, but they were backed into a corner amongst the rubble, their eyes wide. The beast shook Jim off like he was no more than an annoying fly and as he fell Jim heard the screams, the sound of flesh tearing before an explosion that left his ears ringing blew through the air, sending him flying sideways before he managed to hit the ground.

Thudding into the wall, Jim lay there for a moment, dazed, his vision blacking out before the screams filtered back in and Jim realised it was Kevin. Struggling up Jim crawled over, gagging at the sight of all the blood, his eyes wide. The creature was in pieces. Crawling through the gunk, he made it to Kevin; he was trying to hold Cassie's chest together, tears in his eyes as he screamed. Jim gasped at the site, his chest tightening in horror and then he saw Jana, her pale figure spread out on the ground at their feet, her eyes wide, unseeing in death. Jim heard the sound of heavy boots walking towards them before he lost consciousness, his hand reaching for Jana's.

\--

Leonard's eyes flew open, jerking towards the other body in the bed, desperate to clutch at something. Fear and devastation surged through the bond, and Leonard was almost surprised to see a fully-grown Jim next to him, his hands reaching and his eyes wide.

"Bones?"

"Jim…" Leonard frowned. He had been dreaming; vampires didn't dream "Did you…"

"Dream? Yeah… it was crazy vivid, especially the one about you."

Leonard flinched, pulling away, immediately shutting down "Vampires don't dream."

"Your wrong" Jim insisted sitting up in the bed and frowning down at Leonard.

Leonard could feel the panic bubbling in his chest; he refused to address it, so instead turned his energy to remembering the dreams a sick feeling in his gut "You saw me kill that girl."

"Yes."

Leonard turned away waiting for the rebuff or some ill-conceived defence of his character. When none came, Leonard slowly sat up and looked into Jim's frowning face. "How can you stand to be in the room with me?"

Jim scoffed, pulling his knees up under his chin, his eyebrows drawing together "I knew Bones, you talked about the death of others with such casualness when we first met… I'm not under any illusions when it comes to you."

"Yet here you are."

"Obviously."

Leonard watched the younger vampire's brows draw together, and something ugly stabbed through his chest. "Stupid child."

Leonard flinched as he heard a snarl, a feral Jim Kirk gripping his shoulders "I may not agree with what you've done Leonard, but that doesn't mean I don't want you."

"You would forgive me my sins?" Leonard refused to meet Jim's eyes attempting to batter Jim's hands away from his shoulders. But lacking the energy to put any real power behind the attempt, he felt drained.

"No" Here Jim sighed and dropped his hands, leaning forwards he gently smoothed his lips over Leonards, Leonard hadn't been expecting it and shivered as his dry lips caught and pulled on his own. But before he could find the strength to pull away Jim was gone. "I am not here to forgive you. Besides, I don't think you want forgiveness, but I think I know what you might need."

"I am beyond redemption if such a thing exists."

"Well then, it's a good thing I'm not offering."

"Then what?" Leonard sighed, he wanted out of the conversation. Some part of him wanted out of the room, but he didn't think he could leave even if he tried.

"Acceptance?"

Leonard frowned, trying to pull away

"Just… just wait, no, Bones!" Jim was growling, insistent as Leonard tried to pull away "Leonard, Stop."

Leonard was surprised when he did just that, the command causing a jolt to run through his body an instinctual reaction to the distress he now realised he could feel rolling through the bond in waves. He was hurting his mate. Grunting he allowed himself to be turned, Jim curling around his back, his bare chest pressed to his skin, at least this way he didn't have to look at him. Reluctantly Leonard felt himself relax into the heat of the vampire behind him, contentment making him feel clouded.

"Bones, I can't even begin to understand what you have been through. To survive a life like yours, I could feel what you were feeling in that dream Bones… What you weren't feeling, how broken down you were, how shut off from the world you were. Just let me understand you, let me in. Let me accept who you were, who you are. I'm not going to… I won't like everything you do, and I certainly can't offer you forgiveness for everything you have done. It's not my place, and I'm not sure you should be forgiven."

Leonard flinched, no matter how true it was, it still hurt. Old pain he had kept hidden rolled under the surface of his chest.

"But I can understand Bones; I can accept you as you are, as you were. Let me, let me care for you."

"I'm not worth it."

"You're everything" Jim murmured nuzzling up under his ear, arms circling his chest "God… I can feel you, Leonard, everywhere."

"Please Jim, you don't want someone like me" Leonard could feel himself breaking inside, his walls crumbling. Numbness and surety of self disappearing under the pressure of the new bond, one that was complete and whole. Leonard was choking with the pressure of trying to ignore it.

"I'm here; I'm not leaving Bones. Your the one that likes to run."

Leonard shook at the feeling of Jim's arms tightening around him. Everything was coming to a point, panic welling in his chest, but then he felt Jim smirk against his neck and something in him settled at the familiar gesture. His shaking turned to a shiver as Jim dragged his lips softly from shoulder to ear, the voice husky and broken "Give it up Leonard" a hand gripped his hip, fingers digging in and marking him "you're all out of excuses."

The words, the feeling of Jim running soothing arms down his sides the bizarre, new pressure from the bond all collided until Leonard felt something physically snap within himself, and he was reaching for Jim, turning abruptly to pull their chests together, scenting along his neck. Leonard had time to notice the difference in the wanting of Jim now. Before it had been a raw, primal need to take possession, to take what was his, to lay his claim. Now is was a simmering heat, boiling up from beneath him, manageable in as much that it didn't make him feel feral with it but persistent enough that he still shook from holding himself back.   "You make me want" Leonard choked out the words, his hands running up his chest, coming to rest at Jim's neck where he found himself mesmerised by the play of tendon and muscle.

"So take" Jim gasped, and Leonard felt him swallow, the motion against his hand sending a jolt of heat through him.

"You have your duties" Leonard protested weakly, his eyes slipping shut as Jim shifted closer, moving into his lap. Groaning he let his head fall to rest on Jim's shoulder "Spock will be waiting."

“He can wait” Jim snarled clutched at Leonard’s hair, ripping his head back, their mouths clashing together. Giving into it easily now, Leonard groaned, taking possession of Jim’s mouth, swiping in with his tongue and running it against Jim’s. Pushing on his shoulders, he toppled Jim down onto the bed. There was a full sensation moving through him in waves, lighting him up and making him feel weak and clumsy all at once. Groaning Leonard nipped at Jim’s lips, a snarl escaping his throat when Jim pulled away, gasping like he still needed the air.

“Fuck” Jim’s voice was as breathless as he had heard it since his turn; it satisfied Leonard knowing that he was distracting him enough that he was falling into old patterns.

"mmmm" Leonard agreed, pressing closer to Jim, clutching at him in any way he could, knowing he was leaving bruises yet he couldn’t seem to care. They would heal. All he wanted was to get closer. Nosing at Jim’s neck Leonard scented him, breathing in everything that was Jim and whimpering at how the waves of energy broke over his back, falling over them both. It was desperation different to that of before, the one he had grown to hate.

"This feels… oh…" Jim stuttered, he was shaking; Leonard just held him closer, it seemed the only thing to do.

"Bones…" Jim let out a long groan, fingers clutching rhythmically on his shoulders now, _leaving his own marks_ Leonard thought wildly. Jim shifted, restless and Leonard gasped against his neck as he fell between the v of Jim's thighs, a deep throb echoing through him, resonating from where he had unconsciously lined his clothed hardness up next to Jim’s. He had never hated an item of clothing as much as he did in that instant. Distantly he realised Jim was talking and tried to focus on that rather than the desire to sink himself into the heat he was currently feeling radiating off Jim. "Also, if you leave this time I will kill you; you know that right?" Jim groaned, his body pulled taught, the threat clear even as he strained his neck-baring it for Leonard" Leonard’s reply stuck in his throat with the total submission of the act and Leonard paused for a moment, his resulting groan deep and thick, his eyes taking in all that was Jim.

"Crystal" Leonard eventually responded his voice hoarse, still watching Jim with a riveted expression as a nervous smile lit up Jim's face. Leonard tilted his head to the side as he sensed the nerves fade in Jim as Leonard's conviction and total surrender to the vampire below him channelled through the bond at his words. "You have me.”

Leonard watched as Jim shook, his eyes glazing over and his shaking hands come up to fumble with his belt. “Bones… please” The words sounded pained, broken and Leonard couldn’t do anything but give Jim exactly what he asked for. Grabbing roughly, he pulled Jim’s torso up, resting his arms behind Jim's head as he attacked his mouth once again, before drawing back and resting on his knees. Flicking open the top button on his pants, he immediately fell forward again, groaning as he gently dragged his teeth down Jim’s chest, his tongue circling his nipple. Leonard took note of Jim’s hiss and arch of his back for a later time, but for now, there were more pressing matters. Being hard was somewhat of a constant state for Leonard since Jim's turn, and now the potential of feeling some friction that wasn’t produced by his right hand was overwhelming on every level.

Pushing his Jeans down quickly with one hand Leonard used the other to drag the top of Jim’s down, running his mouth and tongue along and under his hip bone.

“Oh… fu…ck, Bones, please.”

Leonard was gone, completely. Every part of Jim’s body was calling to him, and he found himself frozen and overwhelmed his cock still trapped and throbbing in his jeans. Jim shifted thrusting up and in the process nicked his hip on Leonards teeth that were sharp in his excitement. With a groan Leonard flattened his arm over Jim’s crotch, holding him in place as he sucked hard on his hip, chasing the small amount of blood that had escaped.

“Oh God…. Shhh… B…Unghh” Jim’s babbling voice fell into the background as Leonard snarled pressing him further into the bed. Some part of him realised he was running his arm along Jim’s hard length in his pants, but he was focused on other things.

“I… I can’t oh… oh shit.”

“Mmmm” Leonard rumbled, Jim’s scent hitting him hard, making his arms shake as he used his teeth and hand to open Jim’s pants. Strong arms were grasping his shoulders in a firm tug, then he was pulled up Jim’s body, his half-open pants coming to rest against Jim’s. Jim clutched at his ass, pulling him into a long drag of a thrust that made his arms shake, his breath hitch as Jim writhed beneath him. When Jim's hands snaked between them to clutch at his length through his Jeans, his arms gave out, and he fell hard against Jim.

"mmmm, I… I just… god," Jim was panting when Leonard managed to look down at him, his eyes rolling back as his hips rolled up. Leonard could only swallow, his mouth dry.

"Jim" Leonard groaned, and Jim's eyes snapped open, it was the only warning he had before Leonard found himself flipped, faster than he had been in years. Curiously the urge to fight back was absent, with past lovers his instincts had never let him be handled like this. Instead, he clutched at Jim's hips, threw his head back as Jim bit down on his shoulder drawing a whine from his throat and blood from beneath his skin.

As Jim pulled away violently, tearing Leonard’s skin, his words tumbled from his mouth, shaky and broken "Please just, fuck… I don't think I can… Bones…" Leonard didn't bother trying to listen to Jim's ramblings, instead slipped his hand beneath the band of Jim's pants, squeezing and pulling him impossibly closer. "Booones…."

Leonard found himself snarling, the feedback loops of desire, registering in the back of his consciousness, the bond bouncing it back, setting him on fire. Pulling his hands away he ignored Jim's whine of protest and incoherent mumblings and pushed down Jim’s pants, gripping his length and squeezing gently, his own eyes wide. Biting his lip, Leonard allowed Jim to thrust above him and through his hand, entranced by the way the younger vampires body locked up, curling above him.

With his other hand, Leonard tugged at Jim’s hair, forcing him back down to his shoulder where the younger vampire mouthed at his shoulder as his hips snapped into Leonards' hand. Leonard groaned, the feeling of Jim shaking, moving through his hand and sucking at his bloodied neck sending jolts through his system. With one more full body shudder Jim collapsed more firmly against him, Leonard groaned pressing his face to Jim's neck, feeling him shake before he took both of them in his hands. Overwhelmed at the feel of Jim against him, more wet and warm than he could have imagined, pre-come easing the way Leonard groaned, biting with blunt teeth and Jim’s neck, his eyes closed tightly against the overwhelming sensations.

"Oh," Jim was gasping softly, burrowing into Leonard before abruptly rising back onto his knees and placed a shaking hand down to tangle with Leonard's, setting up a faster pace, stripping them together harshly, unapologetically. Leonard groaned, running his unocupied hand down Jim's chest, watching as his muscles tensed and released, shook.

"Jim…" Leonard murmured, lighting gathering at the base of his spine while white gathered at the edges of his vision.

"Fuck I know, I… god… Leonard" Then Jim was hunching forward his arm pushing at Leonard's shoulders, his nails digging into the bite he had left behind, the sharp pain from the wound caused Leonard to jerk up, the pain blurring into the pleasure. Jim moaned, drawing his attention right back, Jim’s mouth was slack, his eyes settled on their hands, but as Leonard watched his eyes flicked up to Leonards, his eyes almost all pupil. At the same time Leonard thought he saw a fleck of gold, Leonard felt him pulse against him, his release slicking the way for Leonard who followed him over the edge almost unexpectedly, grunting as he continued to thrust against Jim, between their hands. Throwing his head back Leonard surrendered to the feeling, white hot pleasure pulsing through his veins while the bond was clearer than It had ever been, he could almost feel physical bands tying them together and for the first time, he wasn't afraid of it. It was perfect, and Leonard wanted to crawl inside it. For a moment he let himself be unthinkingly happy, the feeling foreign and hot in his veins, his body heavy and his mind drifting.

"Oh," Leonard felt Jim mumble, his words slurred "the bond, it's settling", his hand coming to claw the back of Leonard's head, pressing him closer to his neck.

Leonard didn't much care what it was doing; he felt drunk with it, was merely content to allow it to ripple and roll through him and push as close as he possibly could to Jim. Unable to resist he ran a sharp tooth along Jim's neck, revelling in the full body shudder and whine it produced from Jim before drinking down the slow trickle of blood that emerged. Pleasure swamped his body anew, and he groaned his hips giving a lazy thrust against Jim's, the friction pleasant but fading to the background amidst all the sensations currently thrumming through him, most of his focus simply on getting closer, just closer. He lost track of time, the press of their bodies never enough, eventually though it settled into something manageable and he managed to pull away, if only slightly, his fingers softening their grip.

He felt Jim slip off him some time later, running something over both their stomachs before flopping onto his side and throwing an arm and leg around Leonard who turned without opening his eyes, pressing a gentle kiss to Jim's shoulder.

Eventually, Jim spoke up "Well…"

"Shut up Jim," Leonard muttered, every nerve ending in his body felt raw and sensitive. He didn’t feel up to any form of conversation.

"Thought I was going to come in my pants, this bond stuff is pretty full on isn't it?"

"It's almost as if you don't understand the concept of afterglow." Leonard kept his eyes resolutely closed and clutched at Jim hoping that he could somehow shut him up from mere proximity.

"Grumpy." Jim laughed, but moved closer to Leonard, his smile curving against Leonard’s neck.

"Child."

Jim snorted and pressed himself even closer to Leonard's side "I still want to know how we bonded without...."

"Sex?" Leonard rolled his eyes, finally accepting that Jim wasn’t going to stay quiet.

"Well yeah. I mean even now we haven't."

"No" Leonard frowned; it wasn't something he wanted to dwell on really. It was concerning. His brain felt like it was glued together with tar, everything was sliding around, hard to pin down, gluggy.

"So are you sure we have finalised the bond." Jim once again broke through his thoughts, or rather, the lack of them.

"Yes."

"You're full of words right now Bones."

"mmmm."

"Any idea how that happened?"

Jim’s voice was beginning to fade into noise; Leonard resisted the temptation to groan but did eventually answer. "No, I have never made it a priority to research something I never had any intention of engaging in."

Leonard felt Jim huff in annoyance, yet he didn’t say anything more, and Leonard was content to go back to the silence. It wasn't long though until Jim broke it once again.

"Are you okay?"

The question surprised Leonard, although he realised it probably shouldn't have and he finally opened his eyes, his focus going straight to Jim who stared back his eyes bright, the blue depths giving him pause for a moment. "Yes."

"I know… I know you didn't want this."

Leonard found he didn’t like the pain behind those eyes, or the unsettled feeling sweeping across the bond. So, he decided, to be honest. "No… I, but I am glad in a way."

"In a way?"

"There are still reasons that I didn't want a bond Jim; they don't go away just because I now can't regret what happened."

"You don't regret it?"

"No… but" Leonard paused thinking how he could explain the fear that was threatening to rise and overtake him. How it was only the soft pressure of the bond keeping it at bay, for now. "I…"

Leonard jumped as the door swung open with a startling bang, the metal smacking into the hard wood of the wall. It was Gaila; she stood there, legs spread as if bracing for an attack, her lip split, eyes wide "Sorry, we were going to leave you, but we have a problem."

Leonard took in her rumpled appearance and immediately sat up, Jim following and quickly overtaking him, jumping from the bed and grabbing Gaila's shoulders. Leonard took a second to pull on a pair of pants, raising his eyebrows at Jim's lack of thought and possibly at the display of curves he had previously only felt. After a moment of consideration, he thought it probable that Jim probably just didn't care.

"What is it?" Jim had asked.

"It's Jean Luke" Gaila whispered her eyes flicking to Leonard "He's here."

Leonard froze, a chill sweeping up his spine.


End file.
